Netflix isn’t slowing down on its acquisition of Nigerian films. The streaming giant, which recently bought the global rights to Genevieve’s Lionheart and Niyi Akinmolayan’s Chief Daddy, has just acquired Kunle Afolayan’s Mokalik alongside other pictures of the Nollywood director.
At the French + Nigeria Cinema Days, a 2-day event hosted by the French Embassy in Nigeria to encourage collaboration between Nollywood and the Cinema of France, Kunle Afolayan, who spoke on the process and challenges of co-production between Nigeria and France, informed the audience that Netflix has acquired Mokalik, his latest feature:
I wish to inform you that Netflix has acquired Mokalik and some of my other films.
The veteran filmmaker had met with the American company in Amsterdam some months back to discuss the acquisition which also includes a deal for an upcoming film, Tenants of the House. There is no announcement from Netflix yet and we don’t know the other Afolayan’s films acquired by the streaming giant.
Mokalik follows the career of an 11-year-old boy, Ponmile, from the middle-class suburbs who spends the day as a lowly apprentice at a mechanic workshop in order to view life from the other side of the tracks… When his father arrives to take him home; Ponmile has to make up his mind if he wants to return to school or take on his apprenticeship full time.
The film has enjoyed relative success at the Nigerian box office, according to public box office records by the Cinema Exhibitors Associaton of Nigeria (CEAN), it has grossed 42 million Naira in just five weeks, making it one of the most successful Nollywood features so far in 2019.
The film stars singer Simi, the latest artiste blurring the lines between Nollywood and music. Other cast members include Fathia Balogun, Femi Adebayo, Ayo Adesanya, Charles Okocha, Lateef Adedimeji, and Dayo Akinpele.