Zimbabwean content creator
Godwin Jabangwe (pictured) recently hit the international headlines when he
inked a reported six-figure deal with Netflix to produce an animated musical
film titled Tunga, courtesy of bidding war at an auction event brokered by an
organisation called Verve.
Jabangwe is part of Impact
1, a programme conceived and run by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard ostensibly to
usher new creative voices into the film and television sector via projects. The
holder of a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California, Los
Angeles, Jabangwe is represented by Lit Entertainment Group and Jackoway Austen
Tyerman.
Tunga is an animation film
steeped in Shona mythology. It is about a young African girl, Tunga, who
ventures out to a mythical lost city in a bid to save her village from drought.
She is accompanied on her epic journey by a wooden figurine, Zuze. This
figurine magically transforms into a honey badger.
Netflix acquired its first
original movie in September 2018 with Genevieve Nnaji's Lion Heart for a
reported US$3,5 million, according to film industry sources. Netflix has
refused to deny or confirm the amount in what could develop into a watershed
season for African film producers who work with scant financial resources. But
Jabangwe and Nnaji are not alone as two other productions, The Boy Who Harnessed
The Wind from Malawi and television series Queen Sono from South Africa which
underline Netflix's pledge to commission original African series.
In an interview with
Variety , Netflix's director of international original films, Funa Maduka,
weighed in on Netflix's flirtation with African filmmakers which is showing
signs of becoming a fully-fledged relationship: "Africa is birthplace to
one of the oldest storytelling traditions in the world. It also has a rich
cinematic history. The talent is here and we want to present ourselves as an
option as they choose the best path to connect their stories with
audiences."
Another African filmmaker,
Zambian-Welsh director Rungano Nyoni, produced an evocative satire of Zambian
cultural practices in her film I Am Not a Witch, which garnered much attention
at Cannes Festival in 2017. The film has since won a BAFTA Award for
Outstanding Debut by a British writer, director or producer. It has English,
Chewa, Bemba and Tonga languages. It has grossed US$152 960 at the box office.
Netflix purchased it for distribution on its platform.
True to the words of Erik
Barmack, Netflix vice-president of international originals, speaking at the
Content London conference in 2017, Netflix is causing waves on the African film
landscape. Quoted by Variety, "There is going to come a time when half of
the top 10 most-watched shows on Netflix in a given year are going to come from
outside of the United States," Erik Barmack said.
Netflix is on offer in all
54 African countries.
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