Many have been on the necks of many movie producers looking towards Nigeria for more exposure for their movies and this pessimistic approach towards these filmmakers is one of the the main reasons why the Cameroonian movie industry, though with a plethora of amazing talents, still suffers from stagnation. But that is already changing.
It’s obvious that familiarity breeds contempt. Cameroonians tend to become familiar with Nigeria maybe because they’re neighboring countries, forgetting that Nigeria has the largest movie market in Africa and is a world competitor to industries like Hollywood and Bollywood, just to highlight a few.
The country’s distribution outlets are many and continue to increase as the years go by. Cameroon, just like a tiny birthmark on the face of a man, has lots and lots to learn from their counterpart. This is only possible if collaboration is seen as the new competition.
Nonetheless, the movie industry now looks more like it has finally gotten that little spark it desired all along. Sitting back and comparing with the people who should be helping you is what had held the industry backwards. It can’t be argued that most African movie producers found it hard to market their products no matter how good they were, and this of course reduced their chances of competing with other films and filmmakers in the film market across the globe.
In as much as many seem to have discovered the secret which is wrapped in collaboration, many have still not discovered this same secret or they’re either ignorant about it, or have not taken the time to evaluate and/or consider the blessings that follows suit with collaborations. Cameroonian movies, like the pacesetting and record breaking movie The Fisherman’s Diary by Kang Quintus which did not only make it to Netflix, but also made it to the preselection phase of the prestigious Oscars, something most movies in Nigeria haven’t been able to enjoy.
This might therefore hint you that just because Nigeria has the most movies on platforms like Netflix, it doesn’t mean their movies are the best. They could be made to look good based on how they’ve been marketed whereas there are many other movies that are better than those seen on Netflix that don’t get seen because the marketing of these movies are poor. You can raise debates that most of the Cameroonian movies streaming on Netflix are not without big named Nigerian actors and that is where the point of collaboration lies.
In as much as a movie like Saving Mbango by Stephanie Tum and Julia Gham is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, this movie might have been streaming on Netflix should it have had a renown Nigerian actor in it (based on the trends of Cameroonian movies currently streaming on Netflix).
Some fans of the movie Saving Mbango think the movie is an Oscar worthy movie and should have made it to such giant streaming platforms, while many others don’t think so. The Saving Mbango team might be working on it, however, this article is just highlighting why it might not have been selected.
Actress Syndy Emade is enjoying the fruits of working with Nigerian actors and Nigerians movie companies and in the long run, she and many other will not need Nigerians to thrive. But these Nigerians at the moment hold the keys to the growth and exposure of this “baby industry”.
Some producers have noticed this and are stressing less. Another movie to watch out for that will be premiering in the days ahead (you can see the same kind of collaborative tactics not only involving talent, but marketing too), is the movie Back to Kinship which will see singer Stanley Enow debut his acting career. The movie also starring Okawa Shaznay and Joseph Benjamin is one to watch out for. This will add some flavor to the collection of the already existing Cameroonian movie catalogue.
Therefore, the reason why many people should not look at the negative side of Cameroonian movie makers collaborating with the outside world is because collaboration has intensified the competition, opened new doors, provided more international exposure and has raised the bar, even financially for the home-based producers et al.
There’s no doubt that film quality and investment trends in this sector has quite improved.
