Classivally trained actor and film producer, Darlington Anyiam-Osigwe sat down with us today to talk Nollywood, setbacks and the redemption of securing distribution with Netflix.
PMN: How did you get into the film industry as a producer?
DAO: I started off as an actor in the year 2003 when I got registered into the Actors Guild, I strived so hard to be good in what I do, scaling through/passing almost every auditions but they producer would rather end up table casting me by getting their favorites because of personal and selfish gains, but I overlooked them, kept on trying but stopped going for auditions. I refused to stop at nothing and enrolled to a theater group to keep in shape while waiting for a bigger opportunity.
I got admission into university in 2005. In 2006 I did my first project (A Soap Opera). We were stopped in the process due to lack of funding, we had to call off the shoot. I faced my education but then again I didn’t give up because I knew what I wanted to become. I’ll fast forward to 2017/2018 – I did my first project for Africa Magic TV after waiting for years, (I needed to understand the market but I got distracted because I don’t want to be in that level), same 2018 sometime in November my team and I started a production meeting for ColdFeet and I’m glad it turned out to be one of the most anticipated movies of all time.
PMN: how challenging is it to get distribution in Nigeria?
DAO: Nollywood is the largest film industry in Africa and globally, second only to Bollywood. The industry’s phenomenal growth in the last two decades is nothing short of incredible but it doesn’t mean we don’t face challenges. The industry’s informality and the absence of a plan, outlining how to capture a return on investment, has deterred other forms of private financing and closed the door on potentially lucrative distribution opportunities in overseas markets where chain of title is a prerequisite. I believe when you tell a good story, do the needful in terms of having good production value, getting a distribution deal shouldn’t be a challenge, as a matter of fact I think Netflix is a platform I want to be in business with.
PMN: the film was shot in 2018 and just got picked up by Netflix, premiering today! Congrats – how will this impact your audience?
DAO: There’s no doubt Netflix is the definitive modern media company, and its impact is felt in a number of industries: Individually, me myself, I call it ‘The Netflix Effect’. Coming to Netflix is a big deal for me and I know the audience too are reacting positively about the good news. It shows we are working in the right direction.
PMN: There seems to be a rich appetite for Nollywood centres stories at present, why do you think that is?
DAO: Basically Nigeria’s diverse cultural traditions and lifestyles involve 200 million people, 300 tribes and some 500 languages which offers a wealth of material from which the country’s filmmakers skilfully draw to recount simple stories of daily life that resonate with Nigerians, as well as audiences sharing a similar culture and heritage across Africa and the Africans in diaspora. These colourful and entertaining stories capture the imagination of audiences; they echo their lived-experiences, feature a strong moral theme and yes, juju (black magic). Newer generations of filmmakers like myself however, are focusing in today’s current issues. Nollywood is recognized as an expression of the depth and breadth of Africa’s cultural diversity. It is enabling Africans to tell their own story.
PMN: what’s next in the pipeline for Danki Films?
DAO: We are working on a web series at the moment, and a feature film maybe exclusively for Netflix.