How Netflix warmed to the Joburg Film Festival and affirmed city's 'vital role' in growing South Africa's film biz

by Thinus Ferreira

Netflix South Africa has finally warmed to the Joburg Film Festival with the 7th edition that took place in Sandton and that included a panel discussion session, as well as a swanky rooftop Friday night event where Netflix and festival organisers promised even greater collaboration next year and into the future.

Over the past few years, Netflix SA has been reticent to have a full-show presence at the Joburg Film Festival since MultiChoice is the main sponsor and has its own streaming service Showmax which is a rival to Netflix, and while some Netflix Originals have featured in the screening line-up previously, filmmakers have until now been reluctant to tout their projects during it.

One South African filmmaker told TVwithThinus last year during the 6th festival that she couldn't really talk about her upcoming Netflix film, to adhere to what she was told by Netflix, noting that the streamer "doesn't want to appear MultiChoice-adjacent during the festival". 

Now there's clearly been a thaw of sorts, with MultiChoice, Netflix and the Joburg Film Festival all coming to a realisation that greater cooperation is needed from all - even fierce rivals - if South Africa's struggling film biz is to be moved forward, and which filmmakers described as being "in a dire situation".   

On the festival's Friday afternoon, Netflix headlined its first-ever panel session at the film festival.

The all-female panel at the JBX Talks discussion circuit, which ran concurrently with the film festival, was called "Redefining roles for women" with Connie Ferguson, Gail Mabalane, Dawn Thandeka King and Nina Swart on stage.

The foursome talked about woman empowerment before and behind the camera and shared personal anecdotes from their career climbs in the industry over the past few decades.

This was followed that Friday evening by a glitzy, invitation-only "Netflix in Gold" VIP party as another Netflix SA first for the 7th Joburg Film Festival.

Here, on the Artistry-rooftop, bathed in red and gold, Netflix execs, some of the country's most high-profile showrunners and producers, directors, agents, actors, writers, industry reps and festival guests all mingled, sipped champagne and did shop-talk.

Timothy Mangwedi, Joburg Film Festival founder and executive director, said "we've been trying to build this festival brand, and the content as an important platform for filmmakers".

He thanked Netflix for coming onboard in a bigger way at the 7th JFF and said the festival is looking forward to even bigger inclusion and collaboration with the streamer from next year.

"We're a premier film festival, so the relationship is how do we work together and add and showcase new directors, new actors, actresses, new producers, but also importantly how do we bring technology into this wonderful industry."

Ben Amadasun, Netflix vice-president of content for the Middle East and Africa, called his local content execs to stage, which included Kaye-Ann Williams who made her public debut as a Netflix exec following her appointment since February.

As director of scripted content for Netflix Africa, Kaye-Ann Williams will now oversee the video streaming service's scripted films and series in sub-Saharan Africa.

"This is our first participation at the Joburg Film Festival as Team Netflix so we're happy that you could make it to this great event and I'm sure we'll be here for many more versions of this in the future," Ben Amadasun said.

"Johannesburg plays a vital role in the growth of our industry, so it makes sense for Netflix to be part of this festival going forward," he said.

He noted the various Jozi-set scripted series and films already on the streamer like Number, Number: Jozi Gold, Soweto Love Story, Seriously Single and Kings of Jo'Burg that helped bring Johannesburg and Gauteng to a global Netflix audience.

There is also the school-athlete drama GO! from Ten30 Films and produced by Kutlwano Ditsele and Thuli Zuma also set in Johannesburg and starring Thandolwethu Zondi, Wonder Ndlovu, Dawn Thandeka King and Vusi Kunene.

"We've seen first-hand the power of African stories - not just on the continent but across the world. The global audience is very hungry for authentic, bold, fresh stories from Africa."

"Our approach is very simple as Netflix - we want to make sure that we collaborate with the most amazing local creators and continue to expand the frontier of what's possible in storytelling". 

Ben Amadasun noted that Tuiskoms, produced by Infinity Films with Louis Pretorius and Albert Snyman as Netflix's second Afrikaans drama series, "is one of many more I hope - this title is really delivering for us. We're very excited about how our audiences are receiving Tuiskoms".

Netflix and Unesco launch African Folktales Reimagined short film competition for young filmmakers in sub-Saharan Africa.

by Thinus Ferreira

Netflix and Unesco are teaming up to run a "African Folktales, Reimagined" competition and will choose 6 winners from across Africa who will each get a $75 000 (R1.1 million) production budget through a local production company to create short films that will premiere on the global video streaming service on 2022 as an "Anthology of African folktales".

Young filmmakers between 18 and 35 years old will be able to enter from 14 October until 14 November 2021 with the competition that Netflix says is aiming to "discover new voices and to give emerging filmmakers in sub-Saharan Africa visibility on a global scale".

"We want to find the bravest, wittiest, and most surprising retellings of some of Africa's most-loved folktales and share them with entertainment fans around the world in over 190 countries."

Netflix says that it wants the winners to be "truly inclusive", no matter their language, race or ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.

The 6 winners will have to develop, shoot and post-produce their films under the guidance of industry mentors selected by Unesco and Netflix to ensure everyone involved in the production is fairly compensated. Besides the $75 000 film budget, each of the 6 winners will also receive an additional $25 000 (R368 000) as prize.

Unesco and Netflix in a joint press release say that they recognize that many emerging filmmakers "struggle with finding the right resources and visibility to enable them to fully unleash their talents and develop their creative careers".

"This competition aims to address these issues and enable African storytellers to take a first step towards showcasing their content to a global audience".

The "African Folktales, Reimagined" competition is open to emerging filmmakers across sub-Saharan Africa and for the first round applicants will be required to submit a synopsis of their concept in no more than 500 words, as well as links to a recent CV and a portfolio or evidence of any past audiovisual work they have produced.

The film concept cannot be a documentary nor an animation form. These applications can be submitted online at www.netflix-growcreative.com/unesco from 14 October 14th at 16:00 CAT and proposals can be submitted in English, French, or Portuguese.  

A African folktale is considered to be a timeless story circulated orally among African people and handed down from one generation to the next.

"This competition puts a global spotlight on the emerging, homegrown talents of Africa while honouring the storytelling tradition of the continent," says Ernesto Ottone R., assistant director-general for culture at Unesco, in the statement.

"By infusing new energy into the folktales, these young filmmakers enable these stories to transcend time, space and culture - from their communities, through a digital platform, into the hearts of audiences around the world."

Ted Sarandos, co-CEO and chief content officer at Netflix, says "Growing up, entertainment was how I connected with people. I fell in love with the stories and characters I saw on screen and experienced how storytelling has the power to inspire, which is why I’m excited about this partnership with UNESCO and the opportunities ahead"

"Together we will promote local cultures and support the creative industries in telling stories that cross borders, reflect universal truths, and ultimately, bring us together."

Ben Amadasun, director of content in Africa at Netflix, says "Africa has a rich storytelling heritage and a wealth of folktales that have been passed down for generations".

"When you marry these very local stories with Africa’s emerging talent, there’s no limit to fresh new stories to connect people with African cultures and bring the world that much closer to each other."

People who want to apply must have a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 5 years of demonstrable professional experience in the audio-visual industry and must have developed and produced 1 to 2 theatrical feature films, television fiction, documentaries, or 2 to 3 short films or commercials.

Applicants must be between 18 and 35 years old.

The shortlisted 20 candidates will be announced in January 2022 and will then be invited to a "How to pitch to Netflix" workshop to guide them on how to prepare, polish, and present their film concepts. 

An independent judging panel, under the guidance of Unesco and Netflix will then choose the 6 winners, who will then develop their 12 to 20-minute short films under the guidance of industry mentors.

The films will launch between September and October 2022 on Netflix.

The National Film and Video Foundation and Netflix set up joint R28 million fund to create 6 South African micro-budget films.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) and the Netflix video streaming service are creating a joint R28 million film fund to help with financial support of local filmmakers in the creation of 6 South African micro-budget films.

The NFVF and Netflix South Africa will each contribute R14 million to the fund to commission 6 feature films that will debut exclusively on Netflix, although they will in time have further distribution windows on other platforms as well.

The R28 million fund will be used to help in the creation of 4 feature films with a budget of R4 million each, and 2 films with a budget of R6 million each - so-called "micro-budget" film productions.

"We are excited as the NFVF to be partnering with Netflix and appreciate their investment into local content," says Makhosazana Khanyile, NFVF CEO, in a statement.

"The incorporation of digital platforms into our traditional processes can only benefit the industry further. We hope this is simply the start in what will no doubt be a long and fruitful relationship."

Ben Amadasun, Netflix's director of content in Africa, says in the statement that "The past year has been incredibly difficult with the pandemic hitting so many industries around the world".

"The creative community, that we are a part of, has supported us through the good times so we want to help them continue to create the stories our members love through the $1 million Covid Relief Fund contribution we started last year in collaboration with SASFED and IPO to help below-the-line workers in South Africa’s creative industry."

"Now we’re excited to take this a step further with this joint fund with the NFVF for above-the-line talent."

Filmmakers will be able to apply for possible funding from 1 April 2021 at a submission portal.          

Former Uber West Africa boss Ebi Atawodi jumps to Netflix as its director of payments for the Africa, Europe and Middle East region.

by Thinus Ferreira

Ebi Atawodi, Uber Nigeria's former general manager for the West African region, has been appointed by Netflix as director of payments for Netflix's Africa, Europe and Middle East (EMEA) region, a region that currently has 66.7 million subscribers.

Announcing her appointment as Netflix EMEA director of payments on LinkedIn, Ebi Atawodi wrote that "Anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with Netflix – the culture, the product, the impact it has had on the art of storytelling. Excited to be joining Netflix as director of payments [Europe, the Middle East and Africa] and can't wait to do the 'best work of my life' ".

In her new role, Ebi Atawodi will work to streamline, adapt and integrate Netflix's payment system not just for consumers in South Africa and across the African market, but she will likely also work with telecom and pay-TV partners like Telkom and MultiChoice who have already integrated the video streaming service as an add-on app that their customers can sign up for besides the main services.

Ebi Atawodi joins notable other Africans working for and representing Netflix's interests in Africa, including Dorothy Ghettuba as the programming head of Netflix Originals for Africa, Ben Amadasun as Netflix's director of licensing and co-productions in Africa, as well as Marang Setshwaelo who is Netflix's publicity director for the sub-Saharan Africa region working from Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Ebi Atawodi worked for Uber for 6 years, starting in 2014 as Uber's general manager for Lagos where she expanded the availability of the ride-sharing service in around Nigeria's largest cities like Lagos and Abuja, as well as across the West African region, and spearheaded the introduction of cash payments..

She eventually became Uber's general manager for West Africa. 

Ebi Atawodi became Uber's product manager for global payments in February 2017 just a year after Netflix launched across Africa in 2016 where it is now competing with MultiChoice's Showmax, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video and a growing list of video streamers available on the continent.

Ebi Atawodi jumps to Netflix in Amsterdam from Uber's office in Amsterdam where she was the senior product manager at Uber worldwide, leading the Uber's Amsterdam money product team.

Previously she was the head of corporate communications at Etisalat, one of the main telecommunications companies in Nigeria.

During her career, Ebi Atawodi has worked with various companies such as Nokia, GlaxoSmithKline and First Bank of Nigeria and holds a B.Sc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nottingham and M.Sc in Computing Science from Imperial College London.

Netflix currently has just under 2 million subscribers in Africa according to the latest market research, ahead of Showmax with 688 000 (including DStv subscribers who get it as a free add-on).

In January 2021 Netflix reached 203.7 million paying subscribers when it surpassed the 200 million subscriber mark for the first time, and noted that it expects the EMEA region with its current 66.7 million subscribers to surpass North America by sometime around 2023 or 2024.

ALSO READ: Netflix passes the 200 million subscriber mark globally with 203 million subs, teases renewal for its Bridgerton period drama from Shondaland.

Coronavirus: Second season of South Africa's Queen Sono drama series canned over Covid-19; cancellation of Netflix's first African Original series happened because it 'couldn't be executed in these current trying times,' says Diprente director Kagiso Lediga.

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African produced Queen Sono has become the Netflix series to be abruptly cancelled after renewal because of the global Covid-19 pandemic, with Netflix telling TVwithThinus that it is no longer moving forward with Netflix's first Netflix African Original series it ever commissioned that was already renewed for a second season earlier in 2020.

Netflix already cancelled shows like GLOW, The Society, I am Not Okay with This that were renewed and supposed to have further seasons because of the financial and logistical production implications of Covid-19.

Queen Sono, produced by Diprente and headlined by Pearl Thusi, was renewed earlier this year but has now also been axed.

Netflix mentioned nothing to the media about Queen Sono's cancellation during last week's first-ever Netflix South Africa Content Showcase 2020 event with Dorothy Ghettuba, head of Netflix's African Originals and Ben Amadasun, director of licensing and co-productions in Africa.

In response to a media enquiry, Netflix says "We’ve made the difficult decision not to move forward with season 2 of Queen Sono".

"We are incredibly proud of the Diprente team for sharing their audacious vision and bringing it to life with Netflix."

"A huge thank you to our fans across the world for the love shared for our first African Original series. Netflix is also grateful to the amazing efforts shown by the cast and crew for their stellar efforts in creating this show for our members around the world."

 We’ll continue to work closely with South Africa’s creative industry to keep producing more compelling 'made-in-South Africa' stories."

Kagiso Lediga, Diprente director, says that "We wrote a beautiful story that spanned the continent but unfortunately could not be executed in these current trying times".

In response to the Queen Sono cancellation, Pearl Thusi says "It’s so incredible that we as a team got a lifetime opportunity to make history together as there will never be another ‘first’ African Netflix Original Series. I’m proud of the work we did, but everything happens for a reason. I am excited about what the future holds."

Netflix signs output production deal to get more Nigerian content from Africa with Mo Abudu; EbonyLife will produce 2 original series along with films and licence more existing content for the video streamer.

by Thinus Ferreira

While TV and film producers in South Africa and across Africa continue to struggle to make contact with Netflix to pitch or to try and find out how the video streamer's commissioning structure and process works, Netflix has tied up more low-hanging fruit in a content deal with Nigeria's Mo Abudu and her EbonyLife outfit.

Mo Abudu, through her production company, EbonyLife, will create two Netflix Original series for the video streamer, along with Netflix-branded films and series that Netflix will licence from EbonyLife.

These projects will include the on-screen adaptations of literary works by two Nigerian authors - a series based on contemporary author, Lola Shoneyin's best-selling debut novel, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, as well as a film adaptation of Death And The King's Horseman, a play by the author and playwright Wole Soyinka.

Dorothy Ghettuba, Netflix's Africa boss for original series, says in a statement that "We're thrilled about this first-of-its-kind partnership in Africa that will bring some of Nigeria, and Africa's most iconic storytelling to screen. We look forward to supporting Mo as she brings all these diverse Nigerian stories to the world".

Ben Amadasun, Netflix director of licensing and co-productions for Africa, says in the statement that "We believe that more people deserve to see their lives reflected on screen and for that to happen, we need to make sure there's a wide variety of content that caters to our members' diverse tastes".

"Our members around the world have been enjoying some of the licensed titles from EbonyLife like The Wedding Party, Chief Daddy, Castle & Castle and Fifty. I'm excited to continue our licensing partnership with the addition of Netflix branded films titles that will grow the variety of quality Nigerian stories on our service."

Mo Abudu, EbonyLife Media CEO, says in the statement "This unprecedented partnership is testament to the Netflix's investment in African storytelling and we at EbonyLife are grateful and excited about the opportunity to work together with the Netflix teams led by Dorothy and Ben to deliver a slate of unique and riveting stories from Nigeria over the next few years for Netflix audiences around the world."


African producers' growing frustration
While Netflix has announced some Netflix Originals for Africa, African producers and production companies - especially in South Africa, Africa's most developed TV and film market - continue to voice frustration about Netflix's Amsterdam-based approach with picking and commissioning content from the African continent.

Producers and production companies say they don't know how to make contact with Netflix's commissioning division and executives, don't know why only certain producers and production companies are favoured by the streamer for cherry-picked projects, and that they would also like to bring and pitch possible projects to Netflix as they do to local broadcasters and pay-TV channels like MultiChoice and M-Net.

Production companies and media in Nigeria and South Africa said they were surprised and shocked to find out weeks later that Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer, and Dorothy Ghettuba were both in Africa and in these countries in late February 2020.

Producers and media said that they were taken aback that Netflix chose not to do general media interviews with the executives to tout its presence or to share their company's forward-looking commercial intentions, and also excluded producers from possible educational meetings or meet-and-greets about how to pitch to Netflix and how to do business with the streamer.

A month later Netflix appointed Marang Setshwaelo since March 2020 as its new publicity director for Netflix Originals for the sub-Saharan Africa region.

"Netflix looks clueless and out-of-touch, firstly when it comes to the creatives in Africa that do exist and who want to do business with it, and secondly a proper avenue for talent to reach them. If you're a company like us Netflix doesn't know about you and there's no way to get your ideas or suggestions to them that we know of," said a longtime producer.

"It's ridiculous that Netflix in Africa only reaches out to people they seem to know of and isn't making effort or helping emerging producers to know how to get in touch with them or what they want," said another independent producer.