Media entrepreneur Agatha Amata has warned that Nollywood risks stunting its growth if it continues to rely on foreign streamers as the main outlet for its films.
Speaking at the Africa Film Finance Forum (AFFF) summit in Lagos themed “Pan-African Film Economy: Building a $20B Industry for 1.4 Billion People”, the TV host said current distribution models deny many producers adequate returns on their investments.
“A lot of the movies that find their way to Netflix and I watch them and I say, this is beautiful. But we’re still going to be churning out the same kind of things if we do not address these issues. A situation where it is only the streamers that become our first option for other kinds of things,” she said.
Amata lamented that cinemas in Nigeria also cater to limited tastes, with comedies dominating screens while other genres are sidelined.
“You cannot tell me that because I am in Nigeria, everything I would like is comedy. Because Nigeria is high. Everybody wants to laugh. It is because we do not have structures in place to allow for diversity,” she added.
The former Inside Out host also spoke on financing, stressing that filmmakers must secure at least 50% of their budgets locally before seeking foreign help.
“One of the things I’ve learnt about financing, and that comes from being on TV for so long, is I will never go into a production without raising at least 50% of my funding. That includes product placement, writing people into scripts and all of that. And this is available. But we’re not using it well,” she explained.
Amata maintained that Nollywood can only build a sustainable pan-African film economy by diversifying its content, reforming its distribution channels, and strengthening local investment.
