January 2025
Africa Rising: Filmmaker Nnegest O. Likké talks markets, collaboration, and always turning a profit
The Summit Observer recently sat down with multi-award-winning Ethiopian-American filmmaker Nnegest O. Likké to get her thoughts on new markets for the film industry, and the collaborative (and budget-minded) approach necessary to succeed in those markets.
The Summit Observer recently sat down with multi-award-winning Ethiopian-American filmmaker Nnegest O. Likké to get her thoughts on new markets for the film industry, and the collaborative (and budget-minded) approach necessary to succeed in those markets.
Summit Observer: Your focus seems to be on the African film industry. Have you given up on Hollywood?
Nnegest Likké: Not at all. The first film I wrote and directed, PHAT GIRLZ starring Academy Award Winner Mo’Nique, was distributed theatrically by Fox Searchlight and was an incredible experience all around. EVERYTHING BUT A MAN, which I also wrote and directed, was #1 on AMC’s ALLBLK streamer in the USA and broke viewership records on the platform. That film, along with the Netflix original, A SUNDAY AFFAIR, which I wrote, both ranked #1 on Netflix Africa, and A SUNDAY AFFAIR was the most watched Nigerian film in the first half of 2023 on the streamer giant. So, my Hollywood strategy is to continue turning out fresh and original low-cost-high-quality audience favorites, and work to generate opportunities with the right people based on that track record.
Summit Observer: Your focus seems to be on the African film industry. Have you given up on Hollywood?
Nnegest Likké: Not at all. The first film I wrote and directed, PHAT GIRLZ starring Academy Award Winner Mo’Nique, was distributed theatrically by Fox Searchlight and was an incredible experience all around. EVERYTHING BUT A MAN, which I also wrote and directed, was #1 on AMC’s ALLBLK streamer in the USA and broke viewership records on the platform. That film, along with the Netflix original, A SUNDAY AFFAIR, which I wrote, both ranked #1 on Netflix Africa, and A SUNDAY AFFAIR was the most watched Nigerian film in the first half of 2023 on the streamer giant. So, my Hollywood strategy is to continue turning out fresh and original low-cost-high-quality audience favorites, and work to generate opportunities with the right people based on that track record.
Summit Observer: And the opportunities in Africa?
Nnegest Likké: There is tremendous energy in the African film industry right now. I’ve built strong relationships with content creators in “Nollywood,” the Nigerian film industry that produces 3,000 films a year, whereas Hollywood produces less than 600. Besides Nigeria, I have partnerships in South Africa and Ethiopia and am also looking beyond that to the fifty-one other countries on the continent, each home to very talented people and very entertaining stories. Ethiopia in particular, the continent’s second most populous country after Nigeria, is a huge, totally untapped market. Ethiopians LOVE movies and have a strong cinema culture and film history.
The African audience is a billion-and-a-half strong, with a much less developed infrastructure of alternative entertainment than many other parts of the world. All told, the market potential is gigantic – and it is tremendously rewarding to be a part of tapping into that potential.
The African audience is a billion-and-a-half strong, with a much less developed infrastructure of alternative entertainment than many other parts of the world. All told, the market potential is gigantic – and it is tremendously rewarding to be a part of tapping into that potential.
Summit Observer: Both PHAT GIRLZ and EVERYTHING BUT A MAN touch on the major cultural differences between the black experience in the United States and that in Africa or other diaspora countries. Is that something you have experienced yourself?
Nnegest Likké: Yes, I’m a walking embodiment of what it is to be bi-cultural. I grew up in the projects in Oakland. I was a confused, troubled teen, raised by a struggling single mother, a Black Panther and civil rights activist, who still made sure to save enough money each year so that we could travel and see the world. Ultimately, she brought me to Africa to meet my Ethiopian family after my father, a leader of the Ethiopian Revolution, was assassinated in a coup. These people – my family who didn’t know me from Adam at the time – embraced me and treated me like royalty. In America, I suffered from identity issues because of being teased and looked down upon for being “African.” I was lost. But in Africa, I became found. I was immediately accepted and literally lived like a queen with servants to tend to my every need and whim. So, I’ve experienced being on the top and bottom rungs of society’s ladder, in two different, culturally rich worlds. The uniqueness of my life journey has profoundly and positively shaped my world view as well as given me an advantage in creative and authentic storytelling in my films.
Summit Observer: What are your secrets to successful collaboration in making a film, especially in the multi-cultural environments you navigate?
Nnegest Likké: The first part of successful collaboration is recognizing talent wherever you see it; and nurturing it. I cast Mo’Nique as my lead in PHAT GIRLZ before she went on to win an Academy Award for PRECIOUS, which was produced by Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. Another example, before he was well known, I cast the “Haitian Hero,” Jimmy Jean-Louis, as a lead in two of my films. Jimmy’s a real gem and I predict he will be a global superstar soon. He was just signed by CAA.
The second part is to keep it authentic. Unlike other forms of art such as painting or singing, filmmaking is a team art. It’s like playing in an orchestra. Everyone has to be in harmony. Your team needs to know you believe in what you are asking them to do. That requires telling authentic stories in an authentic voice.
An authentic voice is also necessary for the results of the collaboration to be a success. It’s the number one ingredient in a hit film. Audiences connect with authenticity because it’s real and relatable. Everyone loves a fantasy, stories of wealth and privilege, but audiences really connect with characters who come from where they came from, have gone through things they’ve gone through, been knocked down but dusted themselves off and kept getting back up and stepping back into the ring.
The second part is to keep it authentic. Unlike other forms of art such as painting or singing, filmmaking is a team art. It’s like playing in an orchestra. Everyone has to be in harmony. Your team needs to know you believe in what you are asking them to do. That requires telling authentic stories in an authentic voice.
An authentic voice is also necessary for the results of the collaboration to be a success. It’s the number one ingredient in a hit film. Audiences connect with authenticity because it’s real and relatable. Everyone loves a fantasy, stories of wealth and privilege, but audiences really connect with characters who come from where they came from, have gone through things they’ve gone through, been knocked down but dusted themselves off and kept getting back up and stepping back into the ring.
Summit Observer: One of the more unusual things about your films is that every one of them has made a profit. Your first film, PHAT GIRLZ, earned $30+ million in the first year, on a total cost of $2.5 million. How do you do it?
Nnegest Likké: I always joke that if they called it the “business of entertainment”, instead of the “entertainment business”, more people would remember that movies are a product, not just an art form. So, the cheaper you can produce a high-quality film, the better. I always keep budget in mind first, and then craft my story and production blueprint to fit the budget instead of the other way around.
Because of my childhood, I became extremely resourceful. For example, on one film, the studio had allotted me a $200,000 music budget, which isn’t much considering that one song can cost over $50,000 for a single use and I needed fifteen songs. My music supervisor was tearing her hair out, thinking we could only get three or four songs. And I was like “What!? Honey, two-hundred-k is plenty. I’ll use a hundred seventy-five for a few big-ticket classic songs and then to fill the rest of the spots, I’ll go hunt down the best undiscovered musical artists out there who are hungry and would actually pay to have their song featured on a Hollywood movie soundtrack.” My music sup thought it was impossible, but it worked out great for the movie. I actually came in under budget and some of my undiscovered artists blew up after their song was in my movie. Now they’re mega-stars.
Because of my childhood, I became extremely resourceful. For example, on one film, the studio had allotted me a $200,000 music budget, which isn’t much considering that one song can cost over $50,000 for a single use and I needed fifteen songs. My music supervisor was tearing her hair out, thinking we could only get three or four songs. And I was like “What!? Honey, two-hundred-k is plenty. I’ll use a hundred seventy-five for a few big-ticket classic songs and then to fill the rest of the spots, I’ll go hunt down the best undiscovered musical artists out there who are hungry and would actually pay to have their song featured on a Hollywood movie soundtrack.” My music sup thought it was impossible, but it worked out great for the movie. I actually came in under budget and some of my undiscovered artists blew up after their song was in my movie. Now they’re mega-stars.
Summit Observer: So, what’s in your immediate future?
Nnegest Likké: I have 12 projects on my slate and am working on putting together the right teams to bring them to fruition. There are many challenges facing the industry right now, but I always try to remain hopeful and optimistic. AI is an unknown factor at this point as far as its long-term impact on the industry and the world. So, while it’s kind of scary, it’s also thrilling and exhilarating for indies like me. AI can level the technical playing field, stretch budgets, greatly improve the polish and production value of lower-budget movies, and make bigger-budget films cheaper to produce. I’m looking forward to making my first hundred-million-dollar movie…for a million dollars!