Award-winning Nigerian filmmaker Chima Igbokwe recently devised an innovative means of taking the cinema experience to his fans without the usual tedious monthly subscriptions.
His new user-friendly system sparked up an extra dimension, and a better alternative to the movie theatre culture, which has been order wise grounded by the pandemic lock-down.
Chima’s digicinema broke out and became a household name, thus prompting the need for this interview, and he was keen to share insights.
How did you come up with this idea of “digicinema”?
Well, I have always wanted to bring a solution to the problem of distribution in this part of the world. Of course, you know distribution is one of the major challenges of Filmmakers in Africa. So the idea was born from the undying hunger to solve a problem and to make entertainment handy.
Any competitions yet?
Of course, very few but strong ones... Right now, Netflix sits at the echelon. But the good thing is that our concept is unique. We are not a subscriber platform... Our approach is box-office like. And that’s really new.
Fears and expectations?
No fears... Only expectations. I have failed more than I have succeeded and that has made me “fear proof”. If the lips want tear, make e tear finish, but for me it is no retreat, no surrender. We have high expectations. We hope to win. We hope to grow. We hope to fill a gap for both the audience and filmmakers, especially the underdogs.
Major challenges, how you overcame them?
It’s a capital intensive project. Building a streaming platform is no joke at all, but then, God comes through for us all the time. My partners are also very dogged and persevering. So we walked pass the primary obstacles. Again, we are still growing.
Your success story, so far?
It is very obvious. At least dreams are now material. But time will tell.
How to get on board and join the online premiers.
Yeah. Very simple. The process is like this:
Visit the site: digicinema website, register for free, log in after the registration, click on ‘Buy ticket’ to buy a ticket for your favorite film in the lineup for as low as #200 using your card or via transfer. It will generate a unique ticket ID for you. You can then enjoy the movies from anywhere in the world.
What is the way forward for you, now?
Way forward for me?
Continuous movement towards the big picture. I have seen a big picture ahead, everything I do is movement towards the big picture. So the way forward is to continue my movement towards the big picture, God being my helper.