Interview: Sierra Leonean Writer/Producer Victoria Thomas Talks Internet Platforms & Crowdfunding

© DR (Victoria Thomas pictured)
Genre : Film shoots
Principal country concerned : Column : Cinema/tv

As curator of the director's eye project for lettera27 Foundation, I spoke with director and producer Victoria Thomas about internet platforms and crowdfunding. Victoria is from Sierra Leone and was raised in the UK, where she now lives and works. She is currently working on a new feature script, called "Kiloshe," and is also developing and launching a new internet platform called Trigah.com.

The interview is the second part of a series of discussions with female African directors that focuses on funding and production strategies for contemporary cinema.

Vanessa Lanari: Victoria, you are developing and launching a new film platform on the internet called Trigah.com. What is Trigah and what opportunities does it offer for filmmakers?

Victoria Thomas: Trigah is a simple web and mobile application which bridges the gap between culturally diverse films and audiences by functioning as a tracking and alert tool. The internet is not short of platforms with content in films, books, TV, music, blogs and so on. But there is a shortage of time on the part of the audience to discover and consume everything that they might like.

So we are launching a tool that works as a filter for audiences and provides market intelligence for distributors whether individuals or companies. When a film fan signs up, they take a short quiz in order to determine their taste, location and devices they own, which filters the trailers they are shown. They curate their own film watch list, and over time, Trigah's taste algorithm further refines its suggestions. It is a way for you to promote your films to people who like those kinds of films and aggregate a crowd that you can then actively market to.

I developed it as an engagement tool for my feature film which is a comedy set in Lagos after one too many funders asked me who would want to see a comedy set in Lagos. It sort of took a life of its own after other producers and funders showed interest and gave us some money to develop it further.

VL: What kind of content do you screen on Trigah?

VT: We accept trailers for feature length films but they can be fiction or documentary, using a live action or animation technique.


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