Distribution for African filmmakers

A little article from Variety about distribution (or lack thereof) for African films.

A little something about Nollywood

A nice little article about Nollywood (Nigeria's film industry) and the cinematic black hole Africa is turning into.

The SelfHelpless Movie - part 2

You may or may not remember it, but I posted an article (that I didn't translate, so you actually don't remember it) a few months ago about the Self Helpless movie. The film was directed by a small team of friends from the East Coast of the U.S. that has decided to shoot a small independent film and make it available for free on Bit Torrent.

I must admit that despite its free availability, the trailer didn't make me want to invest an hour and a half of my life in The SelfHelpless. On the flip side, if the distributors of Alice in Wonderland or Iron Man depended on me to earn a living, they would be unemployed, so make an opinion for yourself...

A month after the movie came out, the producers announced proudly on their blog that SelfHelpless has been downloaded 60,000 times. They are now asking everyone who saw the movie for free to contribute financially by buying DVDs, ashtrays, T-shirts, etc. ...

A not-so-stupid strategy, that could be turn out to be profitable given the low-budget. Except that 60,000 free downloads on BitTorrent does not automatically mean that the film was seen by 60,000 Web users (you tend to take more of a product than you actually need or use when it is free), and even less that those who saw the film in its entirety have liked it enough to contribute financially after the fact.

Slightly more puzzling to me is the insistence of the producers producers to show they are not seeking any return on their investment nor to get hired by the Hollywood machinery by using this film as a calling card. Unless of course, this is only a facade, although I think they really are sincere in their approach.

Because, beyond basic human greed, if their little film is actually good but they don't care about accumulating debts without getting enough money back, how will they go about shooting a second?

Ask the Greeks, you always end up repaying your debts ...

How to be American - part 2: the stars

When you decide you want to work in film, you need to take a look at the figures at the weekend box office numbers. This may seem boring at first, but it's very interesting to compare the performance of different movies depending on their genre, their budget, etc. ...

What is even more interesting is to go on specialized websites and read the comments below the articles, where people try to explain the good or bad performance of a film by the fact that an actor is a true star or not, is underestimated or overestimated, has no talent or a lot of talent, has always drawn crowds or has never done it. They do so by throwing insults at each other, which quite frankly, makes for an even better read.

Since we’re all trying to become Americans here, I’ll talk about movie stars, this week. Because if there's one thing that Americans have over the rest of the world, it is the magical aura of Hollywood actors, examplified by TV shows in which they are invited abroad with an ever-delirious crowd welcoming them.

In soccer or basketball, you’re ahead of the pack because you are just more talented than the others. Take Messi, Ronaldo, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, for example. You score lots of goals you score or lots of baskets. It's that simple, it’s that objective. But it's hardly the same thing for our friends the actors.

Will Smith-although not particularly bad, is not better than most. Neither is Angelina Jolie. If I start talking about Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Jessica Alba, Robert Pattinson, Ashton Kutcher, and many others whose talent is very well hidden, I'll still be here in 3 days. In short, unlike with Kobe or Lebron, when you put a stars in a bad movie, it's still a bad movie (Will Smith in Seven Pounds or Hancock). You put them in a good film, it's still just a good film. Basically, a star is expensive, but does not make that big of a difference in terms of quality.

How does one become a star in Hollywood if talent does not explain everything? And what is the point of having one in a movie?

An actor/actress does not necessarily become famous by attracting public attention with his talent, far from it actually (not everyone is Meryl Streep). He or she does with her looks (Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Angelina Jolie), his personality (who does not want to be friends with Will Smith or George Clooney), a person with whom he or she goes out with (Jennifer Aniston), the nightclubs he/she attends, sometimes even just the clothes he/she wears. This make him/her a star because there is much so much media coverage about him/her in magazines, even though that person's work itself has not necessarily been groundbreaking.

As for the use of stars, the explanation is simple. A famous actor is “everybody’s friend. " When he is in a movie that’s coming out soon, it attracts your curiosity, regardless of the film in question, just as if a member of our family or a colleague told you he will appear in the newspaper the next day. When you see a trailer or a poster in the street, that familiar face makes you unconsciously think that you will have a better time watching this movie rather than another.

The studios need that. A marketing device. They need celebrities who draw attention to themselves and not the (often poor) quality of their films. It would be simpler not having to spend millions of dollars to pay actors who are sometimes overrated. Just make good stories that the public wants to see without any regard to who is on the screen.

But at the same time, it is so much easier to make "Valentine's Day" and go play golf while spectators don’t realize until afterwards that they’ve been taken advantage of.

Because after all, a good script –unlike actors - makes all the difference, but it’s kind of hard to find...

Do you know what one looks like? If you do, no need to take the first flight to LA.
They don't buy them here.

This is Nollywood

The film industry in Nigeria...

How to be American - part 1: the trailer

Throughout the following weeks I'll teach you to how be "Americans." Because after all, it is what we all want to become. Americans. Right?

Whatever the country, English-speaking or not, European, Asian or South American, American films have hade a huge success, often greater than the one enjoyed by domestic films in their respective countries.

Most international movie stars owe their global celebrity to their participation in a Hollywood product or a nomination / win at the Oscars.
The explanation cannot simply be the fact that all American films are better than others. Why then?

There are many answers, and trailers are one of them. Yes, trailers. There's just something about them that makes the difference.
Of course, there's the cavernous voiceover that makes even the greatest banalities exciting. (IN A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE IS LYING ... HOW DOES HE KNOW WHO’S TELLING THE TRUTH?).

There is also the recent top 50 hit which is used so that if you don’t like what you see, the film is at least associated with something you love to hear-or that TVs and radio stations have been hammering in your brain incessantly for weeks.
There is the fast-paced editing that makes you believe that there has to be something exciting since everything is moving so quickly.

Above all, the U.S. majors always make sure that at the end of said trailer you really know what the film is about. Entire film concepts are modified and some movies don’t even get produced because executives felt it couldn’t be summarized in a simple 150 seconds clip that can successfully attract audiences. Because that’s the name of the game: attracting people. Butts in the seat. By all means.

So you do what I already talked about above, but you also show all the best scenes of the film. So much for mystery or surprise. If there aren’t enough good scenes, you can also show a major plot twist (hello, Terminator IV and Sam Worthington who is in fact not human). What if the client feels robbed after seeing a mediocre movie whose trailer showed the only elements of interest? It does not matter.

You don’t believe me? Let me tell you a story, despite my really inaccurate memory. A few months ago, a marketing executive from one of the majors came to talk in one of my classes. A girl –pretty hot, come to think of her again- asked this question: "Don’t you think it is a bad thing that many trailers nowadays show much more than they should and don’t leave any room for surprises? I went to see XYZ recently and I realized that the trailer was more a summary of the film than anything else."

The - pretty funny - answer of our marketing friend? "Excuse me, but this is everything I've heard: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, I went to see XYZ, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You paid to go see the movie, my mission is accomplished and the job ends there. What happens afterwards is not my problem."

He’s right after all. You can’t get a refund. What will you do? Never watch a movie again in your life? I’d love to see that.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Internet Pirate

Last week I talked about voting with your wallet to stop the studios from continually releasing mediocre films for the simple reason that there will always be people to see them.

I also added that this was not an encouragement to all the pirates that plague the Internet and try to pretend they do nothing wrong. When listening to them defending themselves during interviews, you would almost be tempted to pass The Declaration of the rights of Man and the Internet Pirate in Washington.

Yet none of their arguments (seeming reasonable at first) hold up:

1. Culture is a public service and should ideally be free.
Let’s be reasonable for a second, music and movies are not comparable to health and education in terms of necessity. And despite those being absolute necessities, everyone has to pay (directly or through taxes) to access these services. And no one would ever dream of asking a doctor, a teacher or a policeman to work for free because of the greater good his activity brings to the community. On the same subject, I wanted to tell you that every single one of us contributes in his own way to the public interest. So why don’t we all offer to work for free? It would be a little hard to sustain ourselves, but the general interest would benefit from it. Right?

2. The most recent films are mediocre at best.
This is an opinion that I agree entirely with. But like I said before, we'll all die someday. Why waste your time with movies (2 hours of your life) that do not interest you and you don’t deem worthy of spending a few dollars on (online or in theaters)?

3. The studios and the movie stars earn too much money.
This is completely demagogic. Let's put things in perspective. $20 millions per movie is a lot. 10 millions euro to run after a ball is too much. But either you have no interest whatsoever in sports or cinema and do not contribute to fill up the wallets of all those actors, directors, football and basketball players, or you're interested in it (to some degree), therefore it is illogical in this case not to reward someone who provides something that has value for you.

4. I'm just sharing what I love with my friends.
It is perfectly legal to lend a movie to friends and family. But let’s not fool ourselves now. I am not a Facebook addict, yet I still have over 500 "friends" (a drop of water compared to others). I know we all love to feel popular but no one has over 500 close friends and needs to publish a link to an illegal torrent on his Facebook page.

The only reason one can use as an excuse for illegal downloading (one that engages the responsibility studios) is that the copyrights holders don’t make any legal way to see the film available in your country.

That will be the subject of my post next week. So sit tight

What, already missing me? Don't worry. I'll be back.

Caution! Overheating brain

I have been taken hostage this past Friday. Taken hostage by 3 members of the fairer sex who forced me to watch Twilight on DVD this weekend. When I woke up (at the end of the film), I found myself in the middle of a discussion about the questionable (to say the least) quality of this film and many others that still earn millions of dollars anyway because apparently people don’t like to think too much when going to movies.

Having miserably lost our debate mainly because I lacked the courage to offend my enemies (what kind of man likes to be on a woman’s bad side?), I make myself feel better by giving you here my 7 reasons why entertainment ≠ total lack of intelligence and/or logic in film.

1. It may sound stupid, but when a friend tells you a story that’s completely uninteresting, devoid of any logic or sense, generally you do not like that. That guy just wasted 10 minutes of your time. Now imagine that your friend’s name is Michael Bay or Roland Emmerich, the story he tells you sometimes lasts up to 2 hours and 30 minutes, and in addition he makes you pay for "honor" to listen. I think you get my point.

2. Because studios know they make mediocre films but continue to do because people will see them anyway. As a film fan, I'd rather vote with my wallet in deciding not to help these films succeed. (For the clever guys thinking it's an encouragement to piracy, we'll have a talk next week).

3. Because although I’m not a Secretary of State or a President, I cannot afford to lose 2 precious hours of my life (we're all going to die at some point, I remind you) on the grounds that I don’t want to think too much. I can afford that even less since this.

4. Did your brain really overwork after Inglorious Basterds, Slumdog Millionaire or The Dark Knight ?

5. Did your brain feel that much better after What Happens in Vegas, 27 Dresses or The Proposal ?

6. If you think the only way to get your dose of special effects is to see Transformers 2, 2012 or Wolverine , watch District 9 . Seriously. Now. Go ahead, I'll wait.

7. Let me summarize. Between classes we skip (we all did), exams we study for on the day before, American Idol, The Messi/Ronaldo, Kobe/Lebron debates, Youtube clips of ninja cats or babies who say "Blood! Not funny! "And finally the parties on weekends, when do our brains actually get so overheated?

The beginning of the H7 Films era

I promised you a surprise a few days ago (for the 4 people following this blog). Well here it is.

I hope this is the beginning of a long adventure and there will be a lot of people to enjoy the ride with me.

If I were you I would invite some friends. Because we will have some fun.


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Press Release:

H7 Films builds its web

The new production aims to bring African cinema to the forefront

Yaoundé - Major change in the African cinematic landscape: the creation of H7 Films by Henri Melingui.

H7 Films will be an African film production company based in Yaoundé (Cameroon). In addition to financing and producing its own projects, it will also distribute them around the world.

"Our challenge is to offer original and innovative stories that hardcore moviegoers can embrace and that a wider audience can still relate to. ", said Henri Melingui.

The company will use the Internet as the focal point of its global strategy. It will make its movies available in Video on Demand simultaneously in all territories without any restrictions.

The African public without a broadband connection will also have access to these movies on DVD. The distributor will a tour of event screenings in every major African city.

"Through my blog Quartier Boz'art , I had the opportunity to talk about the disappearance of theaters, piracy, and limited financial resources in Africa. However, I believe that the current environment is still favorable to a rebirth of cinema on the continent. The key is to remain creative and flexible in front of the obstacles that arise, "added Melingui.

H7 Films already has several projects in advanced development.

The new structure will officially start its operations during the second half of 2010.

The Porn industry: the future of cinema

No, I'm not completely insane. The facts are there to prove what I’m saying.

Flashback to the 80s; a new technology now allows consumers to record content on a cassette. Two formats are competing, VHS and Betamax. JVC is OK with adult film producers using the VHS format to sell their movies when Sony and its Betamax refuse. Result: Although Betamax format was comparable in quality, VHS became the universal format for videocassettes. The Hollywood studios, initially reticent to this new technology (Universal and Disney took Sony's Betamax to court for copyright infringement) eventually follow the trend after witnessing the success of adult films in home video format the following years.

With the advent of the Internet in the mid 90's, the producers of adult films again showed to their more conventional counterparts how great a tool the web could be to promote films and reach audiences wherever they are in the world and at lower cost. The introduction of broadband has only confirmed the trend since the pornography industry has exploded with the emergence of countless sites allowing downloads and/or legal streaming on the web when, at the other end, conventional cinema is still in its infancy as far VOD goes.

However, the fate of the more recent war between new DVD formats (Blu-Ray and HDDVD) has not been decided by the adult industry as producers didn’t care much, having already understood that the future was mainly in the digital. Conversely, American and even French studios persist in their efforts to convert us to Blu-Ray, while DVD sales have collapsed over the past two years.

In short, all I was trying to say is that if you're an aspiring filmmaker/producer, you have much more in common than you think with your “adult” colleagues. Few people are willing to go into theaters to see your work and you cannot afford to spend millions on marketing or even in production. However you can find viewers around the world who are still interested in the message you want to convey through your films (“love each other” for porn and whatever you think you have to tell).

Well, now you know where to look next time you want to see where the cinema industry is heading.
And you also have a ready-made excuse if your boss catches you on questionable websites in the middle of the afternoon.

Don’t thank me. You’re welcome.

Movie theatres in Africa

The film industry in Africa is at a standstill and the problem is very simple: NO THEATERS => NO FILMS.

Thus the question: how do we prevent the closure of theaters in every city of Africa? First of all, why are these theaters closing? Don’t African people like movies? Everyone does, right?
Some say Africans are poor, $1 or $2 for a ticket is too much to ask for people who barely have enough to eat.
Also, new foreign films arrive late (when they arrive). DVDs (pirated or not) are available long before their release in Africa.
Theaters are in poor condition. Some mention the bad smell, others the ripped seats when it is not simply a film different from the one announced that finds itself projected on the screen.

So inevitably, people got organized. Filmmakers, journalists, alerted the authorities and called on African governments to fund and maintain historical theaters that would be managed by the state, allowing cinema to survive and retain its function as a vehicle for African culture.
Personally, I hope all these efforts fail.
I'm not saying this out of hatred or meanness. Simply, the solution is not to fully nationalize an industry that requires an great amount of both creativity and diversity like the film sector does.

This is not the solution because the real answer to our initial question is this: There is no money to be made in Africa with film.
That's what everybody says. So naturally, it must be true. All this movie crap is nice and all, but it brings nothing. End of discussion.
Yet there are many beautiful cars parked in front of the DVDs stalls disseminated around our street corners.
Yet alcohol flows freely in the nightclubs of our main cities.
Yet there are very large houses (mansions even) that one can see in the upscale neighborhoods of these cities.

There is an opportunity to capitalize on this minority of privileged people by opening small theaters and allow ourselves to grow as all the film industries in the West have before us. Entrepreneurs with a long term vision could establish a network of small venues across Africa, which would be a better generator of profits that these large theaters (with only historical value) of almost 1500 people that are dying before our eyes.

Sure, that requires brainpower, some collaboration with film producers and some time to implement, but is definitely feasible.
Or maybe, Africans do not like the movies.
Perhaps that’s the real answer