The Black Book

December 22, 2023 5:32 AM

The Nigerian Hit Movie That Broke Netflix - "Government corruption, police brutality and the often futile struggle of ordinary Nigerians for justice form the backdrop for Effiong's impressive action sequences. 'Authenticity was key for us, showing Nigeria as it is, in a way that Nigerian people would recognize,' says [director Editi] Effiong. 'Not a Hollywood version of Lagos, but Lagos as we Nigerians see it.' The film's success has raised the bar for Nigerian movies, which have proven a driving force for Netflix and other streaming services as they look to expand across Africa and to export African cinema worldwide."

You reference several real-life events and political developments in Nigeria, why was this political backdrop important to the story you wanted to tell?

I think Nigeria today is fundamentally different from what Nigeria was 40 years ago, when the military was in charge of things. Now, a lot of people who were in the military just changed into civilian clothes and ran for government. But the impact of the things, like the impact of the drug trade, has been immense. But young people in school don’t learn the history of Nigeria, our schools don’t teach them the history, so they are cut off from it. With the film, I try to immerse people in our history and be as authentic as possible in doing so.

I was 13 years old when the secret police came to my school and told us to shut down a press club. Back then the military was still in power. I know the fear that I felt then and knowing that allows you to stay authentic at all times, to tell authentic stories like the ones we would read in the underground newspapers of the time when journalists weren’t allowed to write openly but could only write underground.

The story of military dictatorship, political corruption and government-sanctioned violence is, sadly, quite a universal one...

One of the most touching messages I got from a guy in Colombia. He said: You may think that this is the story of Nigeria. But this is exactly the story of my country. And I’ve got the same message from Brazil, from Suriname, from Argentina, from Chile, from India, Pakistan. I was so touched by that.

I think the biggest validation for me was that a film made by Black people with Black faces, and 100 percent Nigerian money went on top the world’s biggest streaming platform. It was top three in the world, top 10, and number one in about 20 countries. But the one that made me really proud was it was number one in South Korea. South Korea is one of the world’s biggest entertainment markets, where the audience has great taste. To South Koreans chose this film with Black faces, made by a Black person with Black money, well itt tells me that we can tell our own stories by ourselves for ourselves and the world will embrace them.

Empowering the next generation of African creatives - "In Nigeria, a rising Nollywood producer inspires young filmmakers."

The Black Book: Behind Nigeria's film funding revolution - "In the end, 'The Black Book' wasn't just a movie; it was the spark that ignited a cinematic revolution and gave birth to Nigeria's first Movie, Entertainment, and Arts Fund. It was a testament to the power of vision, determination, and the belief that African stories could shine on the global stage."

The Black Book Is Nigeria's First Runaway Netflix Hit - "With smaller budgets, Nollywood filmmakers, no matter how ambitious, have often had to compromise on their vision. To bring his dream to life, Effiong had to find unconventional routes to fundraise. He reached out to the colleagues and friends who worked in the tech industry and treated the process as though he was raising money for a tech startup, drawing up documents and making sure to provide weekly updates on the project."

New Netflix thriller tackling theme of justice in Nigeria is a global hit and a boon for Nollywood - "'It is a fictional narrative but this is what Nigeria was,' Effiong told the AP. He believes Nigeria is not doing a good job of teaching its history in the schools and letting young people understand how the country's past is shaping the present. 'A society must be changed positively by art, and so there was an orientation on our part to, through the film we are going to make, reflect on this issue (of police brutality),' Effiong said."

The Black Book is a gritty new thriller that raises the bar for Nollywood - "The Black Book portrays a nation grappling with corruption within the ruling class and the pervasive influence of manipulative kingmakers. It reflects a society where insecurity is perpetrated by security officials, free speech is stifled and honest journalism suppressed. Watching it is a visceral experience of a country of both beauty and lurking dangers. Ultimately, it's a reminder of the cost of justice, especially for the vulnerable in society."

posted by kliuless (10 comments total)

I haven't seen this yet, but this description alone makes me want to:

I watched that Marvel film, Captain America: Civil War, and there was a scene supposedly shot in Lagos, it says so on the screen: Lagos, Nigeria. There’s a market and there’s a fight. And I was watching this, and thinking: Come on Hollywood! I could have done better! Because that’s not how Nigerian markets look. Now, watching The Black Book, our scene at the market, that’s how a Lagos market looks. It’s only about one minute of screen time but it took us three months to plan. We went to the street gangs, to get them to work with us and let us shoot there. We brought in 300 extras who are Lagos people. We paid the actual market women and trained them to ignore the camera and act. This was done in the middle of COVID so we tested everyone to make sure no one would infect our 59-year-old leading man.

But like when you see that market, that’s what a Nigerian market looks like! It’s rowdy, everyone’s moving, no one’s looking at you, you’re getting pushed here and there. That kind of authenticity is what Nigerians connected with because it wasn’t the world telling the story of Africans, it wasn’t a Hollywood version of what a Nigerian market looks like, it was from here.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:42 AM on December 22, 2023 [23 favorites]

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Interesting links and back story. I will watch it.
posted by SoberHighland at 5:57 AM on December 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

(FanFare)
posted by box at 6:52 AM on December 22, 2023 [5 favorites]

What a great post, thank you. I've been looking to learn more about Lagos and a locally-made action flick is a nice easy way to be entertained and maybe see a different perspective. Here's a profile of Effiong from 2021, before this movie. Focusses on his work at Anakle, a digital marketing company he founded.

I fear most of what I know about Lagos is from the 2010 BBC documentary. I thought it was well made and informative but it is was not without controversy.
posted by Nelson at 7:12 AM on December 22, 2023

Maybe this is a facile take, but I've seen far more non-US (and Canada-pretending-to-be-US) production on Netflix in the past few years than I have previous in my 50+ years.

I don't know that Netflix consciously tries to break the established North American industry system, but for my viewing history, they certainly have. Interestingly, the same is not true on the other streaming services we subscribe to.
posted by bonehead at 7:16 AM on December 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

> I don't know that Netflix consciously tries to break the established North American industry system, but for my viewing history, they certainly have.

I think they're just more interested in expanding subscribership internationally since they basically saturated the north american market a few years ago (everybody who was ever going to get a netflix account got one in the pandemic). But it does mean we get to see a lot of great international television and movies that would've been hard to find before, like Nollywood stuff, tons of Indian movies not just from Bollywood but also say Telugu (like RRR), lots of the wild stuff being made in South Korea, etc. If you don't mind subtitles there's a lot of great stuff on netflix even if their quality hollywood stuff has been decimated by the many headed hydra of the Streaming Wars.
posted by dis_integration at 7:21 AM on December 22, 2023 [5 favorites]

Netflix is subsidising local productions basically everywhere. 1670 is the newest Polish one and I'm quite curious about whether this historical mockumentary translates for foreign viewers. At least in Poland they've been a boon for queer cinema in particular during 8 years of state film sponsorship money going to patriotic right wing drivel. And now I have another film on my to watch list ...
posted by I claim sanctuary at 8:03 AM on December 22, 2023 [7 favorites]

I feel like I've read a good article about Netflix' global content strategy but I can't find it now. It's a big deal and I think mostly terrific.

But "subsidizing" is a bit of a stretch. Sometimes they're just buying license rights for existing content. Other times they are helping produce, with a budget, but details vary. From the Wired link in the post:

When Netflix formally entered the Nigerian film industry in 2020, many in the business thought it would mean more money flowing into productions. The streaming giant had previously licensed existing Nigerian films and made them available to its more than 200 million global subscribers. When it started investing in its own slate of original content, Nollywood hoped that it would spur a creative boom, as well as a financial one, giving filmmakers the opportunity to explore new ground. But Netflix’s early titles were broadly similar to what came before them, in similar genres, albeit with slightly more elevated production values. And the money wasn’t great either. Reports have shown that Nigerian filmmakers are paid a lot less compared to their counterparts in countries with significantly smaller markets. The average licensing fee for Nigerian films on Netflix is between $10,000 and $90,000 according to Techcabal, significantly less than in other parts of the world.

posted by Nelson at 8:16 AM on December 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

we pretty much don't watch any "western" content on netflix. basically sick of the way westerners tell stories (save the cat, e.g.). so this is all good news for me
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:49 AM on December 22, 2023

In some markets like the EU, streaming services are legally required include a certain percentage of locally-produced content. Similar laws will take effect soon in Canada and Australia. It's a nice bonus that Netflix takes its locally-produced shows and movies from all over, translates them into many different languages, and makes them available globally.
posted by mbrubeck at 12:42 PM on December 22, 2023