In the beautiful library of her prestigious private school, the heroine, wonders: would’nt her neighbor be her missing sister? And is the hero in love with her? The series Blood and Water is a hit with this plot halfway between Riverdale and Beverly Hills. But Blood and Water is not an American series: the heroine is called Puleng Khumalo, and she lives in Cape Town, South Africa. The latest Netflix production is 100% African.

The platform has initiated a strategy to conquer the sub-Saharan continent: purchase of local films, then local productions and now ad hoc commercial offers. In South Africa, the American giant has just created a specific model of broadcasting on phones, for 49 rands (€2.8) per month. The market is promising. According to Digital TV Research, the number of streaming subscriptions is expected to triple within five years, from 5 million to 15 million. And the continent has 500 million smartphones.

For the South African Cinema industry, the arrival of Netflix is a game changer : after decades of serving international crews (Avengers, Mad Max, One Piece…), South african directors and actors are offered to tell their own stories to the world.