Niyi Akinmolayan: FG needs to encourage Netflix to set up Nigerian office, train filmmakers

Niyi Akinmolayan, the filmmaker, has emphasised the importance of developing Nigeria’s cinema culture to ensure long-term success, regardless of streaming services’ presence.

Speaking on Channels TV, Akinmolayan discussed his latest project ‘Lisabi,’ which is a historical epic showcasing the legendary Yoruba hero’s defiance against the Oyo empire.

The movie, written by Lateef Adedimeji, and directed by Akinmolayan, premiered on Netflix last week.

In the interview, Akinmolayan acknowledged that streaming services like Netflix have motivated Nigerian filmmakers to produce high-quality content, attracting better income.

He, however, stressed that the government must engage streaming services to establish a physical presence in the country and foster local talent and knowledge transfer.

“Netflix excites you to make good movies because you know it is going to generate a bit of income. You spend more. You spend more on technical quality and spend more on a lot of things. You have to train people to do the work. And what it does is that it improves everybody’s life on that chain,” he said.

“We are going to have a problem when they decide to pull out. As a country, we have not positioned ourselves to succeed with or without them.

“We should be growing the cinema culture not shutting it down. It makes no sense. In every other part of the world, cinema is rising. We should not say streamers are here let us stay away from cinemas. We should look out for local streaming, and distribution opportunities.

“The Nigerian government needs to be very intentional. The government can say ‘Netflix we love what you are doing. We are not going to tax you too much. But you have to establish something here in terms of the number of people to work with locally. You have to set up shop here’.

“While tons of people are working, there is knowledge transfer.”

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Showmax are the biggest streaming services in Nigeria with significant investment in the film industry.

Last year, Netflix revealed it invested over $23 million and licensed 283 titles in Nollywood between 2016 and 2023.