The African film industry is experiencing a golden age. From a rich history of portraying the continent’s realities to a contemporary boom in production, African cinema is captivating audiences worldwide. Nigeria’s Nollywood is a prime example of the African film industry’s growth. Established in the late 1980s, Nollywood has become the world’s second-largest film producer, churning out thousands of movies annually and generating ₦19 billion in revenue in the last three years.
Technology has always been a part of the film industry but in recent years in Africa, technology is solving a big problem of funding and distribution for filmmakers. Streaming services have created more accessible avenues beyond cinemas for filmmakers to get their movies to the right audience. With these services, both local audiences and the African diaspora have access to rich African culture through storytelling and entertainment. But despite the production of thousands of films yearly and the advent of streaming services, only a few films make it to the big streaming platforms. This leaves a large number of filmmakers (often smaller filmmakers) without viable options for distributing their work. This accessibility problem is what Ugonna Nwabueze has set out to solve by creating Ugonna Village.
Ugonna Village is an international Film and TV studio and streaming platform for African film and TV content. It was founded by Nigerian-American Ugonna Nwabueze (Studio Chief/CEO), one of the youngest global distributors of African films. Ugonna Village partners with African Filmmakers to platform and celebrate authentic African stories that reflect and showcase traditional and modern culture with a youthful flair.
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A Princeton University and USC School of Cinematic Arts Alumni, Ugonna has always had her hands in the film industry. A writer, producer, and global industry consultant, her films have garnered multiple global network deals including a recent deal with Fox. She is also a 2022 recipient of the Dana and Albert R. Broccoli Producing Scholarship Award established in the memory of the esteemed Hollywood producer. According to Ugonna, she started Ugonna Village out of the desire to reconnect Africans across the diaspora to the continent through entertainment and champion African independent storytelling globally.
Through Ugonna Village, Ugonna Nwabueze has created a platform for small filmmakers to showcase their films to an enthusiastic audience and get encouragement to continue to create. Before a film is put up on Ugonna Village, it is vetted by audience members called “villagers”. The platform emphasises authenticity and fun and is easy to navigate with its sleek, compact design.
Currently, Ugonna Village boasts of a contact list of hundreds of content creators excited to share Ugonna Village films and TV with their followers across platforms. The platform is expanding with many original projects in development and filming rights to several projects secured. The platform also recently launched its Watch Party influencer program to give filmmakers direct feedback from audiences. Interested parties can join the watch party programme here.
Ugonna Village is ushering in a new generation of filmmakers and giving them access to a wide audience. To find out more or explore the film offerings on Ugonna Village, click here.
