A growing number of Cameroonian filmmakers, facing a stark landscape of limited opportunities and systemic challenges within their home industry, are increasingly looking towards Nigeria's powerhouse film sector, Nollywood, to sustain their careers and connect with broader audiences.
The Cameroonian film industry, sometimes dubbed "Collywood," is grappling with a perfect storm of obstacles: inadequate distribution networks, marginalization fuelled by internal linguistic divides, a lack of cinema infrastructure, and a local market often favouring foreign content. These issues, compounded by economic constraints and the lingering impact of civil unrest, are prompting talent to seek collaborations and production opportunities in Nigeria.
Eystein Young Dingha, a Cameroonian filmmaker familiar with the sector's peaks and troughs, confirmed this trend, acknowledging that the difficult domestic environment has driven many colleagues to explore options across the border.
Stephanie Tum, a prominent Cameroonian actress and producer, embodies this shift. Finding it increasingly difficult to operate solely within Cameroon, she recently filmed several YouTube projects in Lagos, Nigeria, with plans for more. "Staying afloat locally has become a significant challenge," she noted, highlighting the pragmatic reasons behind her cross-border ventures.
A Fractured Landscape: Anglophone vs. Francophone
Underpinning many of the industry's struggles is Cameroon's complex socio-political makeup, predominantly split between a Francophone majority (roughly 80%) and an Anglophone minority (around 20%). Reports indicate ongoing systemic marginalization faced by the Anglophone regions, particularly since civil unrest intensified in 2016.
This divide deeply affects the creative industries. Anglophone filmmakers often find their work sidelined. "Francophone platforms often reject movies made by Anglophone filmmakers, forcing us to either assimilate or find markets outside Cameroon," Tum stated.
Itambi Delphine, a veteran filmmaker with nearly two decades of experience, shared this frustration. She observed that even French-language platforms like Canal+ tend to prioritize content from Francophone creators over Anglophone ones. "The French platforms ask us to film in French, which doesn’t always suit our stories," Delphine said, illustrating the pressure to compromise linguistic and cultural authenticity.
Infrastructure and Market Challenges
Beyond internal divisions, basic infrastructure remains a major hurdle. "We only have three cinemas in the whole country," Delphine lamented, emphasizing the near impossibility of building a sustainable theatrical market locally.
Television offers little respite. Cameroon hosts around 90 cable TV stations, yet they overwhelmingly feature foreign content, with Nigerian films being particularly popular. "TV stations don’t prioritise local content," Tum stated, echoing a common grievance among local creators struggling for airtime.
The digital space presents its own set of problems. While YouTube has become a necessary outlet, Cameroonian creators face a significant barrier: direct channel monetization is often unavailable for accounts linked to Cameroonian IPs. This forces them to partner with foreign-based channels, frequently Nigerian, to generate revenue from their content.
The Brief Netflix Boom and Lingering Dependence
There was a moment of optimism between 2020 and 2023 when Netflix tested the Cameroonian waters, leading to a temporary surge in production budgets. "The growth was slow, but there was potential," Delphine recalled. However, Netflix's eventual withdrawal, reportedly due to lack of profitability, left the industry adrift. "After Netflix pulled out, we were left not knowing the next step," she explained. This episode inadvertently deepened the reliance on Nigerian intermediaries like FilmOne, which now often serve as aggregators for Cameroonian content seeking placement on major streaming platforms.
Nollywood's Pull: Stars, Costs, and Reach
Nigeria offers tangible advantages. Nollywood's established stars provide significant marketing leverage. Cameroonian films like 'The Planters Plantation' (featuring Nkem Owoh), 'Therapy' (with Richard Mofe Damijo and Iretiola Doyle), and 'Fisherman’s Diaries' (starring Ramsey Nouah) have successfully used Nigerian actors to gain international visibility. While Delphine views this reliance on foreign stars as a symptom of undervalued local talent, it's a strategy proving effective for market penetration.
Cost is another factor. Tum estimated that filming a single YouTube movie in Cameroon could cost up to N12 million (Nigerian Naira), whereas a similar budget in Nigeria might fund a project with a diverse cast for potentially a third of that cost, offering greater production value and reach for the investment.
Government Inaction and Adaption Strategies
Many filmmakers point to a lack of government support as a critical factor hindering growth. "The government isn’t open to bringing in companies that could make arts and film profitable for us," Delphine argued, citing a lack of incentives and infrastructure development.
Despite the daunting circumstances, Cameroonian filmmakers are adapting. Cross-border collaborations are opening doors. Tum, for instance, launched her own YouTube channel (Tum TV), modelling her strategy on successful Nigerian actress-producers like Omoni Oboli and Ruth Kadiri.
However, approaches vary. Dingha remains cautious about platforms like YouTube until their value proposition is clearer. Delphine, rooted in traditional filmmaking, expressed reservations about compromising narrative depth or production quality for the fast-paced demands of some online content. "I love storytelling, and that passion keeps me from compromising on quality," she affirmed.
The trend highlights the resilience of Cameroonian creators but also signals a potential brain drain and further dependence on Nigeria, posing complex questions for the future of Cameroon's own national film identity.