Netflix is investing on the African continent to bring out new talents and tell unique stories, which often appeal to a local audience before being exported around the world, its vice-president of content for Africa explained to AFP. , Ben Amadasun.
The pioneer and giant of online streaming wants to tell the story of the “diversity” of the continent and choose initiatives aimed at amplifying African voices on the world stage.
“Making sure that we constantly bring more relevant and well-crafted local stories” represents “a major opportunity,” said the manager, met this week on the sidelines of a Forbes under-thirties summit in Botswana.
The platform wants to emphasize the development of skills, both in front of and behind the camera. Netflix offers “direct training and skills development on our productions, as well as scholarships and master classes so that young talents can develop their projects”.
Netflix is banking on the broadcast of solid African productions “made for an African audience first, because when a title is appreciated somewhere, it has a better chance of traveling”. “A great story can come from anywhere” and authenticity, like narrative prowess, are key factors, he insists.
Its teams closely monitor the different markets that Netflix serves “to find the best stories”, particularly in Nigeria and South Africa. “More people deserve to see themselves, their lives, their culture, language and country reflected on screen,” says the vice-president, himself a Nigerian.
In recent years, Netflix has focused on diversifying its production outside the United States, enjoying huge successes with the Spanish series Casa de Papel and the South Korean series Squid Game. “Blood & Water” became the first South African series to reach number one in the United States.
A story that is “local, very real and precise, that has a clear and well-executed vision, the public is going to be interested,” he says, expressing concern about representing “a diversity of points of view and ideas.”
Hollywood is no longer the only gateway to international recognition. Squid Game is the perfect example: “created by a Korean, telling a Korean story for a Korean audience, becoming the most watched of all time” on the platform.
African films and series are experiencing a golden age, with “world-class creators”, according to Mr. Amadasun, who is promising recent collaborations which will be revealed in the coming months.
