THE CONTENT BOOM: LENS IS MORE

AFRICA'S CREATIVE ECONOMY HAS NEVER LOOKED BETTER. AND WHILE AFRICAN MUSIC HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT, THERE HAS BEEN AN UPTAKE, BOTH LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY, FROM A FILM AND TELEVISION PERSPECTIVE.

- Chanel Retief, Nicole Pillay

IT'S NOT ALL GLITZ AND GLAM BEHIND THE SCENES, BUT IT WOULD SEEM THE GROWING $5 BILLION-PLUS INDUSTRY IN AFRICA IS ONE GLOBAL AUDIENCES CAN'T SEEM TO GET ENOUGH OF.

In 2023, African entertainment company MultiChoice and film and television company Bomb Productions revealed the story of the heroic rise of an iconic Zulu king. It was production value at its finest, from the elaborate costumes on Shaka iLembe and the sweeping cinematography, to the standout soundtrack, stellar computer generated imagery (CGI), and the resonant portrayal of Zulu culture and tradition.

"Honestly, we were terrified of the reception we would get," says Desiree Markgraaff, Executive Producer at Bomb Productions.

"We were so excited by the idea of it but we cheated a little bit because we wanted to tell the story of Shaka, but we were really more interested in telling the story of the men and women who lived in that time, who influenced him, who gave rise to this great person." Markgraaff says they were nervous as they only introduced Shaka in episode six of the series, which, she thought, audience members would respond negatively to.

But that wasn't the case. Shaka iLembe, a six-year production, saw over 3.6 million viewers on DStv in South Africa in June 2023 - reportedly the best-ever performance that MultiChoice has seen in its history, for a drama series. It also reached number one on the DStv App in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and other African countries.

"When audiences reacted in the way that they did to the show, and embraced it in the way they did, firstly, it was a huge relief," Markgraaff laughs. "But it was so beautiful to watch people falling in love with their history." Similarly, when Netflix launched in Africa in 2016 and released its first Netflix Original Africa show in 2020, it portrayed the deep desire that audiences have for authentic African content.