Ghanaian film critic Tony Asankomah recently discussed the issue of film distribution in Ghana and its impact.
During a recent interview on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z, he highlighted the distribution gap as the reason for the lower visibility of Ghanaian films on Netflix.
“A lot goes into it, talking about the quality and the standards, the requirements that they need to enable you get your film onto Netflix. But I have maintained and I am saying this that, our biggest problem as a space is because we do not have Ghanaian distributors who understand the terrain for distribution of films now.”
“So all the Ghanaian films that you see on Netflix, they didn’t get there by chance. They went through a distributor who could be a Nigerian or South African company who understands the model and these distribution companies always have a quota of films they have to submit. So of course, I am from this country, I would prioritize content coming from my country that content coming from Ghana,” he told the host Kwame Dadzie.
He pointed out that he had observed several excellent Ghanaian films unable to reach Netflix due to the distributor they worked with. Additionally, he mentioned witnessing poor-quality films from various regions making it onto Netflix.
He also mentioned the challenge of demand meeting supply as a factor contributing to the scarcity of Ghanaian movies on Netflix.
“We have come to understand how Nigerians paying for subscription. So if Netflix is paying for their data they know where the money is coming from. They know those who are paying more for subscription. They will entertain them. They look at the analytics and know the type of films they watch, these are the kind of content they are interested in,” he said.
Netflix is an American over-the-top (SVOD) subscription video on-demand service that mainly streams original and acquired movies and TV series across different genres. It is accessible globally in multiple languages.
Some Ghanaian films on Netflix are ‘The Burial of Kojo’, ‘Keteke’, ‘Azali’, ‘Gold Coast Lounge’, ‘Side Chic Gang’, ‘Aloe Vera’, ‘Ties That Bind’, among others.