Nigeria’s movie director, Kemi Adetiba and award-winning Nollywood actresss, Genevive Nnaji have been named among Netflix’s 55 groundbreaking women in entertainment across the globe.
Netflix, an American service provider and Production company, in partnership with the United Nations Women is set to launch a special collection titled “Because She Watched” curated by groundbreaking women in the entertainment industry around the world.
Curated by female creators from behind and in front of the camera, who live all around the world – including Sophia Loren, Salma Hayek, Yalitza Aparicio, Millie Bobby Brown, Laurie Nunn, Lana Condor, Petra Costa and Ava DuVernay, the collection is expected to be available all year.
“This collaboration is about taking on the challenge of telling women’s stories and showing women in all their diversity.
“It’s about making visible the invisible, and proving that only by fully representing and including women on screen, behind the camera and in our narratives overall, society will truly flourish,” said Anita Bhatia, UN Women Deputy Executive Director.
Created for International Women’s Day, whose official theme this year is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights,” the collection celebrates the stories that have inspired women around the world.
“Having a world where everyone is truly represented is about true democracy. And truly seeing ourselves allows us to envision endless possibilities for ourselves and each other,” said Laverne Cox during the official unveiling of the list of 55.
Reacting to the nomination through her instagram handle, Kemi Adetiba expressed joy at being recognised by the world-famous production company
“I am honored to be one of the women from around the world (and one of the only two women from Africa ?) to curate a collection of titles on Netflix for their 158 million members globally called “Because She Watched”, celebrating the power of women’s stories and the official IWD 2020 theme of Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights launching on Feb. 27.
“@netflix tasked me to choose a couple films (and write on my reason of choice) that inspire HER in some way, sparking important conversations or cultural change related to gender equality, one that features a groundbreaking role not previously portrayed on-screen before or features female talent behind the camera, she said.
