AFRICA HAS A RICH FILM HISTORY.
THE ALGORITHM JUST DIDN’T SHOW YOU IT.
African content has never been better - but its distribution system is getting worse, with platforms shutting down or scaling back.
Not even Africa’s Oscar nominees are available in SA.
So we’re building a curated home
for African cinema on YouTube.
YouTube has already won the streaming wars;
Africa just isn’t leveraging that enough yet.
African audiences are already watching African films on YouTube, just not in a premium, curated system. Top Nollywood channels reach over 3.5m subscribers and over 650k views, earning an estimated $1M each in ad revenue.
YouTube rewards channels that keep people watching. A single film can’t do that; a curated channel can. Shared audiences compound; individual uploads don’t.
Curated channels like Omoleto or Short of the Week turn 10K–100K films
into 1M–20M+ views, because curation builds trust
and trust builds audiences.
This isn’t a new idea. It just hasn’t been applied to African cinema yet.
Some of Africa’s best are already on YouTube.
They’re just not curated together.
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![Butterfly, the Oscar-nominated short animation by Florence Miailhe]()
BUTTERFLY (Algeria, 2024)
Director: Florence Miailhe
Runtime: 15m
In the sea, a man swims. As he does, memories come to the surface. From his early childhood to his life as a man, all his memories are linked to water. Some are happy, some glorious, some traumatic.
Best Animated Short nominee: Oscars -
![The Oscar-nominated Ugandan documentary Bobi Wine: The People's President]()
BOBI WINE: THE PEOPLE'S PRESIDENT (2022, Uganda)
Director: Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp
Runtime: 1 hr 54 min
Ugandan opposition leader, activist and musician Bobi Wine enters the 2021 presidential race, running against Yoweri Museveni, who had led the country for 35 years.
Oscar nominee: Best Documentary Feature
Best Feature Documentary, International Documentary Association -
![Kenyan political documentary Softie, which won the Editing Prize at Sundance. Part of Plot Twist's curated collection of essential African documentaries available to stream on YouTube]()
SOFTIE (2020, Kenya)
Director: Sam Soko
Runtime: 1 hr 21 min
When photojournalist Boniface "Softie" Mwangi wants to run for political office, he is forced to choose: country or family?
Special Jury Prize: Editing, Sundance -
![Brotherhood, an Oscar-nominated African short film on YouTube]()
BROTHERHOOD (2018, Tunisia)
Director: Meryam Joobeur
Runtime: 25 min
Mohamed is a shepherd in rural Tunisia. His family’s world is shaken when his oldest son returns after a long journey with a mysterious woman he says is his wife.
Oscar nominee: Best Live Action Short
A distribution system you control
Your film on our curated YouTube channel
• Award-winning PR support
• 50/50 revenue share
• Paid twice yearly
• You retain all rights
• Remove your film with one week’s notice
Each new film drives discovery across the entire channel