One of the discussions at DISCOP, From YouTube to the Big Screen, revolved around
opportunities which the platform is able to offer content creators.
Ghanaian Nicole Amarteifio, who spoke at the session hosted by Macej Sojka, head
of YouTube Partnerships CEE, Middle East and Africa for Google, shared the success
story of her web series An African City which has be selected by CANAL + to be
produced as an episodic television show.
Remarkably, An African City is Amarteifio’s first TV project. The self-taught
Ghanaian began learning about the medium of film five years ago when she came
up with the idea for the show.
“I was tired of the single story of Africa being about poverty, disease and war. I
wanted to show other stories, that the continent can be so much more. I wanted to
show that African women are beyond a single story, but are universal – African
women have stories that women around the world can relate to,’ she explains.
The mostly self-funded first season of the series went live in March 2014 and was
promoted through social media platforms. The response was unprecedented and by
the time the third episode had aired online, it was clear the series had captured the
hearts of the African diaspora. “Online fans would be tweeting and Facebooking us
requesting the following episodes. We would put a new episode up on YouTube and
the online notifications would be instant. By the time we released the season
finale, we had over a million views on our YouTube channel,’ recalls Amarteifio.
Amarteifio used YouTube to host the content, Facebook to give it exposure, Twitter
to alert fans of new episodes and Instagram and Pinterest to engage fans interested
in the fashion of the show, which has been described as the African version of Sex
and the City. There was also ongoing interaction between the fans and cast
members, who directly engaged with viewers through their personal Twitter pages.
Amarteifio said this was an equally important contributing factor to the show’s
success.
Sojka remarks: “I don’t think Africa can compete with Germany in making cars but
there is a huge creative spirit on the continent. More talents need to emerge faster
and using traditional media to do this will take too long allowing other countries to
outrun you. But by using platforms like YouTube Africans can begin to create
business locally and compete on a global scale.’
An African City has attracted audiences from around the world, generating online
viewership from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and France. In Africa
top viewership comes from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Senegal.
Amarteifio credited the series’ success to its ability to offer viewers a new take on
Africa and says: “People were ready for something new, something fresh,
something different.
“I guess, like Oprah says, its luck if the definition of luck is when opportunity meets
preparation. But, that preparation involves a lot of hard work! This project is
several years in the making, but the goal it was trying to achieve is centuries
overdue. There were Africans around the world who were adamant that it was time
for other stories, An African City is one of those many other stories that needed to
be told.’
After receiving volumes of viewer emails alerting them to the series’ popularity,
various networks executives began to show interest in the series with CANAL +
approaching Amarteifio to produce Season 2 as a TV show. This means a doubled-
up workload for the crew and cast who are used to producing 10- to 12-minute
episodes for the web as opposed to the 26-minute format required for TV.
Amarteifio and her team, which includes production company 6 Miludo, business
partner Millie Monyo, director Dickson Dzakpasu and DOP Eric Oppong are busy with
pre-production on Season 2 which is set in Accra, Ghana. In terms of content
ownership for the second season, Amareteifio says negotiations are still underway
but that, as is the case for most content producers, ownership is the ultimate goal.
MaameYaa Boafo, Esosa E, Nana Mensah, Maame Adjei and Marie Humbert are the
five stars who portray beautiful, successful African women in the series. Upon
returning to their home in Africa they come together to share their experiences
about love and life.
Season 1 can be viewed on the series website (www.anafricancity.tv) or YouTube
page (www.youtube.com/anafricancity). Viewers can also watch episodes on
iROKOtv, EbonyLife TV, CANAL+ and The Africa Channel.
Tweets about An African City
Sandra Appiah @Ms_SandraAppiah: “Girls compete with each other. Women
EMPOWER one another.’ Looking forward to the next season of #AnAfricanCity
nam kiwanuka @namshine: @DreaDay @RoamingAkiiki @GobezMedia Forget
Carrie. It’s all about these ladies @AnAfricanCity
Nana Serwaa @mzserwah: This an African city youtube series got me dying! we
finally get perspectives of young ghanaian americans living in Ghana
Josephine Opar @viewfinderSS: Who needs tele when you have such entertaining
#Youtube shows? #TIA @AnAfricanCity #Makarao @LindelweN @Koodzi
Makho Ndlovu @makhondlovu: Have you guys watched #AnAfricanCity!? Such a
clever, funny & chic show! I LOVE it! So hooked!
