While global interest in African storytelling grows, regional circulation remains weak. But a new wave of distributors is pushing to build pathways for African stories to find their way home.by Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images
When Nigerian director Tolu Ajayi premiered his award-winning psychological thriller Over the Bridge in cinemas in Kenya and Rwanda earlier this year, it opened his eyes to how few Nigerian films travel across the continent in this manner.
“It was a surprise. I was asked, ‘Is this the kind of films Nigerians make?’” he tells OkayAfrica, reflecting on the audience’s reaction.
Ajayi realized many East African viewers had a narrow image of Nigerian cinema. For years, audiences have mostly seen fast-paced Nollywood dramas known for spectacle and formula on satellite television, streaming platforms, and YouTube. But Over the Bridge is a quieter, more introspective film that follows a wealthy banker’s identity crisis and mental unraveling. It was not what audiences expected.
More surprising than the reaction was the fact that the film made it to East African cinemas at all.
That opportunity came through Screen Connect — a new Pan-African distribution company incubated in 2024 under Some Fine Day Pix and GIZ’s Moving Pictures program — with a clear mission: to get more high-quality and culturally relevant African films shown across African countries.
“In the past, when a Nigerian film was released, it typically stayed within Nigeria… maybe Ghana or a handful of other countries,” says Cassandra Onwualu, Screen Connect’s co-founder. “We wanted to change that and to make African cinema truly pan-African.”
Over the Bridge had already premiered in the UK before screening at major festivals across Europe and North America. After a successful international run, it returned to Nigerian cinemas before Ajayi brought it to Nairobi and Kigali. It served as a reminder that while African films often reach global audiences, they rarely circulate within the continent itself.
Why, despite the rising profile of African cinema, do so few films travel across the continent? While global interest in African storytelling grows, regional circulation remains weak. Most films struggle to cross linguistic, infrastructural, and financial barriers to reach across the continent. But a new wave of distributors is pushing to build pathways for African stories to find their way home.
Director Tolu Ajayi (right) with a guest at the East African screening of his film Over the Bridge, hosted by Screen Connect.courtesy of Tolu Ajayi
A Patchwork of Barriers
Have you ever seen an African film earn rave reviews at Sundance or Toronto Film Festivals, only to find it’s impossible to watch in Africa? That disconnect isn’t accidental, says Chloe Genga of Kenya-based Bigger Motion. It reflects how the global film industry is structured.
Bigger Motion — a new pan-African distribution company that launched at the Nairobi Film Festival in October — is trying to change that. As a branch of LBx Africa production company, it focuses on local theatrical releases and grassroots campaigns to ensure African audiences are not left behind.
Genga explains that many African filmmakers rely on international sales agents to finance their films, which is why more festival darlings are seen abroad than at home. These agents provide upfront payments in exchange for global rights.
“The dream is always to get a sales agent,” Genga said. “They pay you upfront, then take the rights for several years and keep whatever money comes after. It helps producers break even, but Africa[n creators] usually gets left out.”
International sales agents rarely prioritize African territories. “They don’t know the audience, they don’t have the data, and they don’t even try,” Genga said. “So they don’t care.”
But the problem doesn’t lie solely with international players. Onwualu says that some filmmakers often overlook local distribution entirely.
“Too many filmmakers use their entire budget for production, hoping that an international sale will solve everything,” she said. “But if you want African films to actually reach African audiences, you have to plan for it from day one.”
She also adds that Africa “doesn't have enough platforms for the amount of films that are coming out.”
“There aren’t a lot of cinemas. We don’t have a lot of streaming platforms. The TV stations we have do not pay anything reasonable to filmmakers,” she explains.
Rawia Alhag (M), director, Ibrahim Snoopy (r), director, and Timeea M Ahmed, director, of the film Khartoum walk the red carpet for the award ceremony of the closing gala at the Berlinale Palast.by Christoph Soeder/picture alliance via Getty Images
Finding a Home for Khartoum
Bigger Motion encourages filmmakers to retain African rights when negotiating global sales and to partner with distributors focused on the continent. That’s exactly what the company is doing with its launch slate, which includes the likes of Kenya’s How to Build a Library and Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland.
Another standout is the award-winning Sudanese film Khartoum, which offers a portrait of life in Sudan’s capital before and after the 2023 civil war. Initially conceived as a poetic tribute to the city, the film took on new urgency when its filmmakers were forced into exile.
Now based in Nairobi, Ibrahim Snoopy — one of the four filmmakers — says Khartoum’s purpose goes beyond its successful international festival run. Although it initially secured an Austrian distributor, the filmmakers are also partnering with Bigger Motion because they believe African stories must return to the communities they come from. For him, local screenings are a form of advocacy, helping Africans connect with and understand each other’s lived realities.
“In terms of distribution strategy, it’s more about advocacy and impact than pure commercial release,” he tells OkayAfrica.
Bigger Motion notes that its approach is to tailor each release to the story it tells. “No film has a similar journey, so we carry out each one separately,” said Genga. For some films, that means festivals. For others, it means school halls, community centers, or grassroots campaigns. “Whatever it takes to meet audiences where they are.”
A Grassroots Vision for the Future
Despite the challenges, there are real opportunities to rethink film distribution across Africa. Onwualu of Screen Connect says it starts at the earliest stage of production. She recommends that filmmakers set aside 20 to 50 percent of their total budget specifically for marketing and distribution.
“If you used 100 million naira [~$69,000] to shoot and you’re going to the cinemas, you should be budgeting between 20 and 50 million naira if we’re going to get any real traction,” she said. “And that’s a lot of money for the average filmmaker. But the truth is, if we really want to get the kind of success that we are looking for, we need to start thinking of marketing and distribution as something that you really invest in.”
Onwualu also encourages filmmakers to form early partnerships with marketing and distribution experts, sometimes even offering them a share of the film’s equity in exchange for taking on those roles.
Genga of Bigger Motion says that addressing the lack of data is essential to strengthening film distribution across Africa. But that effort depends on transparency with the filmmaking ecosystem. “If we shared what little we have, we could build the kind of database that helps everyone… not just with distribution, but with production and investment too,” she said.
Snoopy shares a similar perspective. In his view, the future of African film distribution depends on solidarity among filmmakers. Without formal networks, directors can still support each other by exchanging films and organizing screenings together.
“We should just reach out to each other and say, ‘Hey, man, how’s it going? Here’s my contact. Please send me your film. I’ll send you mine. Let’s schedule together.’ And it can actually happen.”
