By Abass Jalloh
A modern video -streaming platform called Sierraflixx has launched its newly established technology and mass media company where Sierra Leonean and African movies, television shows, and documentaries will be accessed worldwide.
An event of mostly journalists, filmmakers, bloggers and other media personalities, the pre-launch took place on Friday December 16 at the platform’s newly constructed hub at Bass Street, Brookfields, Freetown. The grand launch, which will focus on disclosing the apps and other features and commencement of use, will be on the 28th January 2023.
Sierraflixx, owned by Idrissa Barry Jalloh, the Executive Director and his deputy, Fatu Kamara, was created as an over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platform with a wide variety of local and international visual capabilities.
According to officials, the platform streams 25 times faster than YouTube in real-time and offers parental control features.”
Sierraflixx is developed as one of the outstanding African OTT platforms, according to the Chief Developer and Programmer of the platform, Alpha Sorie Kargbo, noting that the it is built on top of “high level of security” and that it does not entirely take up the designs from Netflix but it mimicks to provide the interface and flexibility which Netflix also offer.
“Sierraflix charges based on regions because its developers and founders understand that the economic power varies from one region to another,” Kargbo said, noting that it is good for kids and ensures content based on maturity rating and level of registration.
Speaking to journalists, Jalloh said that as a filmmaker for so many years he had always wanted to give back to society as for a long time, saying Sierra Leone has been neglected and due to that “we wanted to get our own platform”.
He recalled: “During the 2020 to 2021 season, we created national film awards, and through some of the contents that we had on our Facebook page, we had a lot of requests from the diaspora and other people, for them to watch those films. So we are looking for a way to bring those contents to the people, so that is one of the inspirations.”
On the challenges for people in the diaspora to access Sierra Leonean movies, he recalled when he was a content and film creator and wanted to submit his films on a streaming platform but that there were so many criteria. “I believe that through the contents I had at that time they matched every standard and criteria, but because of the country that I was coming from there was a little of monopoly, so I was unable to go through the platform,” Jalloh recalled.
Copyright © 2022 Politico (19/12/22)
