Netflix\u2019s director of content for Africa Dorothy Ghettuba laid out the streamer\u2019s strategy for the continent this week at the\u00a0Durban FilmMart, telling a standing-room-only session that the key to launching the next global sensation is to first capture the hearts of local audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe want to entertain the world. We want to tell them African stories,\u201d said Ghettuba. \u201cBut our focus first has got to be local, and then it goes global. We don\u2019t aim for global hits. Shows like \u2018Casa de Papel,\u2019 \u2018Burning Body,\u2019 \u2018Squid Game\u2019 \u2014 those are local shows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Netflix exec appeared in conversation in Durban with South African producers Jayan Moodley (\u201cKeeping Up With the Kandasamys\u201d) and Katleho Ramaphakela (\u201cHow to Ruin Christmas\u201d), who used their personal experience as case studies for how to launch a hit on the global streaming giant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ghettuba pointed to titles like \u201cKandasamys,\u201d a comedy franchise set in South Africa\u2019s Indian community, and the hit comedy series \u201cHow to Ruin Christmas,\u201d as examples of \u201cauthentic stories that will resonate with the local audience first\u201d before becoming global breakouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t manufacture a global hit, but you can start by having an authentic local story,\u201d she said. \u201cIt has to be something that people will love, they will enjoy, and then a fandom will be created around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe moment you say, \u2018I have an international hit,\u2019 I am out,\u201d she continued. \u201cBecause what we have learned is that the more local a show, the more it resonates with your audience. And what happens is that it is loved by people in South Africa, and there\u2019s an effect that it is loved by people in Africa and across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the 2020 release of its first African original series, the Pearl Thusi-starring spy thriller \u201cQueen Sono,\u201d Netflix has steadily developed relationships with a range of African creators, inking multi-title deals with filmmakers including super-producer\u00a0Mo Abudu\u00a0(\u201cBlood Sisters\u201c) and director Kunle Afolayan (\u201cAnikulapo\u201d) from Nigeria, as well as South African filmmakers\u00a0Mandla Dube\u00a0(\u201cSilverton Siege\u201d) and Donovan Marsh (\u201ciNumber Number\u201d) and production outfits\u00a0Ochre Moving Pictures\u00a0(\u201cSoon Comes Night\u201d) and\u00a0Gambit Films\u00a0(\u201cBlood & Water\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Returning to her local-first message, Ghettuba said that such partnerships were the product of finding creators whose shows had already built a passionate local following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf I have a show that is a hit globally and doesn\u2019t work in South Africa, I will not commission a second season. Because it has not done what it needs to do. That is to entertain local audiences,\u201d she said. \u201cSo when we are looking at whether to renew a show for a second season, the first thing is, did it find an audience? Did it find people who loved it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what happened with \u2018How to Ruin,\u2019 that\u2019s what happened with \u2018Kandasamys.\u2019 It finds an audience. South Africans are watching, they\u2019re laughing, they\u2019re talking about it. It resonates with them,\u201d she continued. \u201cThere\u2019s a fandom that has been built around that show, and that\u2019s what enabled us to speak to Kat and Jayan and say, \u2018What else do you think you can come up with that will continue to entertain and bring joy to this fandom that you have created?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Netflix\u2019s latest African slate, which includes new titles from Nigeria\u2019s Abudu and Kemi Adetiba (\u201cKing of Boys\u201d), highlights how the Los Gatos-based streamer is doubling down on its key markets on the continent. But Ghettuba stressed that the company is taking a \u201cstep by step\u201d approach as it continues its African expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in South Africa; that\u2019s the main focus for us. We are looking at Nigeria as well. And then, for the rest of Africa, it\u2019s very optimistic. We do find these titles from time to time. The idea for us is to keep on growing,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are so committed to Africa. We are committed. We are here to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Durban FilmMart runs July 19 \u2013 22.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Netflix\u2019s director of content for Africa Dorothy Ghettuba laid out the streamer\u2019s strategy for the continent this week at the\u00a0Durban FilmMart, telling a standing-room-only session that the key to launching the next global sensation is to first capture the hearts of local audiences. \u201cWe want to entertain the world. We want to tell them African […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,12,2],"tags":[7,30,14],"class_list":{"0":"post-39306","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture","8":"category-entertainment","9":"category-featured","10":"tag-apie-project","11":"tag-culture","12":"tag-entertainment"},"yoast_head":"\n