African cinema on demand? The politics of online distribution and the case of the African Film Library

Abstract

This paper considers the impact of online distribution on the long-term availability and preservation of African cinema. It examines the case of M-Net's African Film Library (AFL), a video on demand library of classic African films that was launched in 2012, but taken offline by 2013. The paper argues that this short-lived project represents a pivotal moment in the way we think about African film archiving and distribution, in which new technologies and consequently disintermediated business models promised to facilitate the circulation of African films in a manner that was socially beneficial, but which in reality resulted in monopolistic control of the content that presented a serious threat to its long-term preservation. The paper goes on to argue that the AFL case encapsulates the entire discourse surrounding the shift to online distribution, in which a 'cybertopian' narrative of a disintermediated and thus democratized film culture quickly gives way to a reality in which content is more tightly controlled by an increasingly narrow and powerful set of private stakeholders, ultimately threatening the preservation of any content that is vulnerable to the shifting demands of the market.

Netflix and Africa: Streaming, branding and tastemaking in non-domestic African film markets

“…Had it been successful, the website would have offered a comprehensive cross-section of African film history, but unfortunately the project was abandoned before the site was even functional. As I have discussed elsewhere (Fisher 2018), M-Net's disbandment of this project represented a major blow to the accessibility and discoverability of the content, but perhaps more importantly it raised critical questions regarding the future preservation of the material; M-Net had presumably secured the films' rights in perpetuity, a monopoly which restricts the 'safety net' of ongoing reproduction and dissemination of the works through DVD and other physical media.…”

“…Thus, the case of the African Film Library was an early challenge to the cybertopian narrative in which the availability of niche and marginal material would vastly improve, demonstrating how easily this could result in a threat to their long-term preservation, with the ever-increasing dependency on online retrieval of material giving unprecedented control of access to its new, more powerful gatekeepers, in turn placing its preservation at the beck and call of commercial demands (Fisher 2018). These problems hold true for Netflix's inventory, which will be secure provided the company continues to benefit financially, but whose preservation could be under threat if it does not.…”

Taking Netflix to the Cinema: National Cinema Value Chain Disruptions in the Age of Streaming

“…16 For example, Fisher, in his analysis of the short-lived African Film Library, points to the emergence of a powerful new intermediary and suggests that "the streaming model is more likely to threaten the availability of niche films, rather than preserve it." 17 He notes the potential precariousness of availability (and especially of long-term archival access) that can occur when online distributors attain an unprecedented level of control over content. Although Fisher's analysis remains entrenched in distribution and long-tail exploitation, his concerns begin to approach some of the implications of streaming for national cinemas.…”