Netflix is one streaming platform which has helped to bring movies closer to the people. The company have also contributed its quota to ensure that quality content is dished out to film lovers.
Some Nollywood filmmakers have been beneficiaries of the over $23m funds released by Netflix over the years. This financial support has helped the producers to create educative and entertaining works that have been warmly received not just by Nigerians and Africans but beyond the continent.
Legit highlights some movie producers including Kunle Afolayan, Genevieve Nnaji, and Mo Abudu, among others, whose works have been acquired by Netflix.
1. Mo Abudu
Mosunmola Abudu, aka Mo Abudu, is a prolific filmmaker whose works include The Wedding Party, Fifty, Chief Daddy, and Oloture, among others. In 2020, the 60-year-old was contracted to produce two Netflix Original series.
The partnership with the streaming platform involved the on-screen adaptations of the books of two celebrated authors Lola Shoneyin and Prof. Wole Soyinka. Shoneyin’s novel The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives will be adapted into a series while Soyinka’s 1986 play Death And The King’s Horseman will be adapted into a film. Chief Daddy was also acquired by Netflix.
2. Kemi Adetiba
Kemi Adetiba is a top-notch filmmaker who co-wrote and directed the 2016 film Wedding Party. She is also the producer of the blockbuster movie King of Boys.
The 44-year-old movie star amazed her fans as she produced King of Boys: The Return of the King, a Netflix series which was a sequel to King of Boys. Kemi studied Law at the University of Lagos and married Oscar Heman-Ackah in 2022.
3. Kunle Afolayan
Award-winning filmmaker Kunle Afolayan has made a name for himself in the industry. With several groundbreaking movies to his credit, Afolayan announced that his film Mokalik, Anikulapo, including other titles, were acquired by Netflix.
Kunle is the first son of the late theatre thespian Adeyemi Afolayan, aka Ade Love. He is the chief executive officer of Golden Effects Pictures and Kunle Afolayan Productions Television. His other works include October 1, Citation, The Figurine, The CEO, Swallow, and Phone Swap.
4. Genevieve Nnaji
The first Netflix Original film produced in Nigeria was the directorial debut of Nollywood actress Genevieve Nnaji. It features stars such as herself, Pete Edochie, Nkem Owoh, Kanaya O. Kanayo, and Onyeka Onwenu, among others, and represented Nigeria at the 2020 Oscars.
Lion Heart, co-produced by filmmaker Chinny Onwugbenu, was released on September 7, 2018, and was premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival in Canada.
Genevieve is an award-winning actress. Among the awards in her shelf is the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2005. She became the first actress to receive this prestigious award.
5. Lateef Adedimeji and Mo Bimpe
Actor Lateef Adedimeji is the executive producer of the movie Lisabi: The Uprising, which was released on Netflix on September 27, 2024. Calming the fears of his fans who read the rumour that the America-owned streaming platform has left the country, he said his relationship with the company has not been strained.
The second part of Lisabi: The Uprising will be released in January 2025. 40-year-old Lateef has carved a name for himself in the industry as a versatile actor. He is married to his younger colleague Adebimpe Adedimeji, aka Mo Bimpe, and she is the producer of the Netflix acquired movie Lisabi.
6. Editi Effiong
Filmmaker Editi Effiong produced and directed the Netflix blockbuster movie Black Book which became the first-ever Nollywood movie to take the number one spot on the streaming platform worldwide.
The movie features the main character Richard Mofe-Damijo, Sam Dede, Ireti Doyle, Olumide Oworu, Femi Branch, and Alex Osifo, Shaffy Bello, among others.
Effiong made the movie with $1m and it was released in September 2023. Other stars in the movie were Kelechi Udegbe, Bimbo Akintola, Norbert Young, Bimbo Manuel, and Taiwo Ajai Lycett, among others.
7. Chinenye Nworah
Chinenye Nworah, also known as Chichi Nworah, is the producer of the Netflix original series Shanty Town. She is the founder of Giant Creative Media and also produced Slum King, an AMVCA (Africa Movie Viewers’ Choice Awards) 2024 Best MNET original series.
Shanty Town, which starred actors including Ini Edo, Chidi Mokeme, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Shaffy Bello, Peter Okoye of the defunct P-Square, among others, was released in January 2023.
The six-part crime thriller series was directed by Dimeji Ajibola, who passed away in November 2024.
8. Charles Okpaleke
Nollywood filmmaker Charles Okpaleke is the producer of Blood Vessels, a Netflix original series which was released in December 2023. The captivating crime thriller was directed by Moses Inwang.
Okpalele produced Living in Bondage, Rattle Snake, and directed Hijack ’93, a historical drama, which premiered on Netflix on October 25, 2024.
9. Chinaza Onuzo
Chinaza Onuzo, better known as Naz Onuzo, is the co-founder of Inkblot Productions and producer of the Netflix original series Far From Home. The young adult series featured Mike Afolarin, Olumide Oworu, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Bimbo Akintola, and Ufuoma McDermott, among others.
Naz is a renowned screenwriter whose works include Love is War, The Set Up, The Wedding Party 2, The Arbitration, and Moms at War.
Kunle Afolayan clears air on Netflix
Earlier, Legit reported that Kunle had thrown some light on his earlier comment about Netflix.
Recall that Kunle Afolayan had initially stated that the streaming platform had quietly exited Nigeria due to the economic situation.
The platform debunked the gist, and Kunle Afolayan has cleared the air about his comment in a new interview clip.
