John Ndlovu
The Zimbabwean motion picture industry is lagging behind other countries in the marketing and selling of films through platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and Showmax.
The film industry in most parts of the world has added new platforms of showcasing motion pictures on top traditional means such as cinema, television and cassettes/DVDs.
The film industry in most parts of the world has added streaming platforms which are subscription based.
Our neighbors South Africa who have arguably one of the most sophisticated entertainment industries on the continent have not been left behind by this new phenomenon.
So far productions such as Blood and Water, Tsotsi, Jerusalem, Paradise Stop, Seriously Single, White Wedding and many others have benefited from international streaming platforms.
As for Zimbabwe, only the Joe Ngagu produced “Cook Off” used the Netflix platform. It was also screened at various film festivals across the world, it also marked the first instance where Netflix received the first Zimbabwean film. Cook Off made its debut on the Netflix on the 1st of June in 2020.
Cook off bagged a tot2of four awards at the film festivals.
Zim GBC News sought comments from local filmmakers to find out why there has only been one film from this country that was distributed via Netflix and why local platforms similar to Netflix have not yet sprung up.
“Zimbabwean consumers are slow to the idea of renting movies or content online and prefer free content consumption. The only way local filmmakers can earn something via streaming platforms is if they target foreign audiences. However for that to happen we need to up our game on the quality of our products.” Said Uncle Nick a local film commentator.
“Zimbabwean filmmakers also to adopt strategies that are being used elsewhere like engaging audience driven influencers and also to study their demographics.” Uncle Nick added.
A writer and Director with Light Image Productions Melgin Tafirenyika said a lot of factors such as data and internet speeds are making it difficult for local films to join the streaming bandwagon.