The Nigerian writer and director, Arese Ugwu, has shared her experience of being significantly impacted when Netflix declined to collaborate with her extensively.
The 39-year-old writer revealed that she had approached Netflix for sponsorship to make her 2021 TV show, The Smart Money Woman, bigger following its success on the platform and Africa Magic, but the streaming giant turned her down.
She mentioned that the rejection nearly shattered her.
Speaking in a recent interview with Afropolitan, Ugwu said, “We were able to produce Season 1 of The Smart Money Woman and got a fantastic reception on Africa Magic and Netflix. We were in the top 10 for 13 weeks on Netflix. I then approached Netflix for sponsorship to make the project bigger and better, and shockingly, they turned me down. That rejection almost broke me.”
Ugwu additionally mentioned her aspiration to be recognized as a accomplished filmmaker rather than merely being known as an author whose work was turned into a movie.
“I aim to be recognized primarily as a filmmaker. It seems that some individuals still view me as the woman who authored a book which later became a television series,” she stated.
Netflix rejection nearly shattered me – Filmmaker, Arese Ugwu