Indigo | Jan 2025
Looking back at the past 10 years, how has the film industry evolved?
There have been major changes in the film industry in the last ten years. We went almost completely digital, online video platforms have gone global, and the Covid pandemic has led to a surge in the amount of content available worldwide.
In terms of market sizes within Africa, the dynamics haven’t changed much with the dominance of three main hubs which are South Africa, Nigeria and to a lesser extent, Kenya.
What were some major challenges of 2024 for the industry?
From an African perspective, 2024 started with the shocking departure of Amazon Prime and it turned out to be the beginning of the end of the honeymoon between several major streamers and African producers. It’s a challenge but it’s also a strong and important reminder to filmmakers to grow strong audiences locally and throughout the continent. For distributors, it’s a time to explore new avenues and creative partnerships.
What are some of the highlights of 2024 for Okada Media?
We ended the year with the release of The Christmas Run in partnership with Black Unicorn Studios (Tanzania). It was released throughout East Africa highlighting our focus towards cultivating cinema culture in Africa at large.
What are you most excited about/looking forward to for 2025?
A new year means new possibilities and new partnerships. That’s exciting. We want to strengthen our existing relationships while we widen our horizons to continue to find ways these amazing films in our catalogue can find new audiences around the world.
How can filmmakers best prepare themselves for a successful year?
Collaborate. The collective approach is now more than ever a key to success and we would definitely advise filmmakers to be more collaborative going forward, especially in areas where you are not as strong!