Nollywood producers have expressed concerns about Netflix’s potential exit from the Nigerian market, despite the company’s commitment to investing in Nigerian stories. Lancelot Imasuen, a prominent director and producer, criticised Netflix’s third-party arrangement and advocated for direct dealings between the two parties.
“Though Netflix is a benefit to the business, I have concerns about the company’s acquisition strategy and collaboration with Nigerians. I definitely believe they concentrated on one end of the film industry.
They should allow content creators to deal with them directly. In terms of commissioning works, I believe they should continue to do so while also democratising the process so that other filmmakers may display their abilities,” Lancelot remarked.
Alex Eyengho, former president of the Association of Core Nollywood Producers (ANCOP), reiterated Imasuen’s comments, calling on Netflix to democratise its process and eliminate the current system of middlemen, or “aggregators.”
“Netflix should be more open to content creators/owners, but not at the expense of quality. The system of aggregators, who act as umpires in the game, is not working.
“The system is not only retrogressive but evil,” Eyengho repeated. Also, Fidelis Duker, founder of the Abuja International Film Festival, believes that Netflix’s likely exit will have little impact on the movie industry because many practitioners currently operate on the YouTube platform.
