Kenya filmmaker emerges top in Netflix's competition, pockets Sh11million
Kenyan filmmaker, screenwriter and director Voline Ogutu.
What you need to know:
- Netflix said the competition was launched with the the goal of promoting diverse local stories and bringing them to the world.
- The winners will now go into the development phase of their projects, before starting production on their short films.
Kenyan filmmaker, screenwriter and director Voline Ogutu has pocketed US $100, 000 (Sh11.3 million) after emerging among the top winners of Netflix short film competition.
The competition, dubbed ‘African Folktales, Reimagined’ was launched by Netflix in partnership with UNESCO in October 2021 and was opened to emerging filmmakers from the Sub-Saharan Africa region.
After more than 2000 applications and a pitching session with the Top 21 candidates last month, a jury selected six winners from Kenya, Uganda, Mauritania, South Africa, Tanzania and Nigeria.
Ms Ogutu and the other five winners will each receive $25 000 (Sh2.8 million) and a production budget of $75 000 (Sh8.5 million) to develop and produce their exciting short film concepts under the mentorship of some of Africa's most prolific filmmakers.
The other five winners are Gcobisa Yako (South Africa), Korede Azeez (Nigeria), Loukman Ali (Uganda), Mohamed Echkouna (Mauritania) and Walter Mzengi (Tanzania).
The winners will now go into the development phase of their projects, before starting production on their short films that will eventually premiere on Netflix as part of ‘An Anthology of African Folktales’ later this year.
“The fact that their films will be shown to a global audience is part of our commitment to promote cultural diversity around the world. Like the African movie sector itself, these six individuals have a very bright future ahead of them," Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO said.
"We cannot wait to celebrate these films at a special premier at UNESCO headquarters in Paris at the end of this year,” she added.
On its part, Netflix said the competition was launched with the the goal of promoting diverse local stories and bringing them to the world.
The competition was also a step towards creative equity, as part of the Netflix Creative Equity Fund, which aims at enabling new voices from underrepresented communities within entertainment to bring their perspectives to a global audience.
“It’s been a truly inspiring journey for us to experience the level of creative talent from our candidates. From the thousands of applicants to the Top 21 and finally, the six winners, it’s evident that Africa is filled with amazing storytelling talent that is ready to share their different perspectives and celebrate Africa’s rich culture and heritage,” said Ben Amadasun, Netflix Director of Content in Africa.
With the budget provided, each winner will be create a film through a local production company in their respective countries the guidance of Netflix appointed supervising producer and industry mentors from across the continent.
Since last year, the streaming entertainment service, which boasts of 222 million paid memberships in more than 190 countries, has been upping its game in Sub Saharan Africa with the aim of attracting more subscribers.
Last year, Netflix launched a free package in to the Kenyan market with the aim of converting the new viewers into paying members.
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