Each year, March 8 marks the celebration of women, but in retrospect women are worthy of celebration everyday and all year-round. So to mark international women’s day, global streaming and entertainment service Netflix announced a collection titled “The Power of She” a collection which appreciates the strides of women in film. The collection will be available all year round, on all compatible devices.
The carefully curated collections feature some of Nigeria’s leading ladies with a selection of titles broken out into individual collections MoviesWrittenbyWomen, WomenInSports, WomenMakingHistory StrongWomen and Kick-ass Women. The goal behind the collection is to showcase the diversity and range that women excel at in film, both on and off screen, and to inspire other women to reimagine their roles in society.
Also to celebrate international women’s day, @Naijaonnetflix will also put the spotlight on some of Nollywood’s leading ladies as they speak on their experiences in the industry while leveraging on anecdotal moments in their personal and professional lives.
In this inspirational video linked below, Ini Dima Okojie and Nancy Isime provide valuable advice on what it means to be a woman in film with inspirational advice to the younger generation of aspiring actors or other women looking to “take up space” in any industry.
“To every aspiring female actor, know this; the industry needs you as much as you need the industry. If you always keep this in mind and believe it, it puts you in a place where you’re not desperate. There’s only one of you and you’re so special. So fly on the wings that you’ve been given, that you were born with. You just need to open it up, not be afraid to shine, and don’t be afraid to walk into a room and fill it up” was Nancy Isime’s emotional response to the question,”What do you want to say to Women around the world?”
To girls who look up to her, Ini Dima Okojie shared nuggets of wisdom for tomorrow saying; “Hold onto that thing that makes you unique, because you are who you are for a reason. Also, better yourself, because it starts with you. Your entire journey doesn’t have to be figured out, as long as you better yourself enough to at least take that one step towards your goal”.
Since the beginning of time, women have consistently strived for change and have achieved successes to the same extent as men but these achievements are largely left unrecognized. Recently due to the influence of technology and the entrants of new players, Nollywood has proven the necessity for showcasing diverse voices and the opportunities that exist with ensuring equal gender representation on and off the screen.
Last year, Netflix announced a $5 million investment to honor women who have paved the way for the next generation, whilst also organizing training programs to develop up-and-coming talent, through its Strategic partnerships with Realness Institute For episodic labs which is currently underway.
