Haute 100 SF: Reed Hastings’ Netflix Debuts First Original Film

Netflix’s first original film has finally debuted in select theatres as well as its streaming service today. The film titled Beasts of No Nation is based on the highly acclaimed novel by Nigerian author Uzodinma Iweala, bringing to life the gripping tale of Agu, a child soldier torn from his family to fight in the civil war of an African country.

The big screen adaption was written and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. In the film audience will see newcomer Abraham Attah portray Agu, while Idris Elba dominates the screen in the role of Commandant, a warlord who takes in Agu and instructs him in the ways of war. The film is produced by Amy Kaufman and Fukunaga, who previously worked together on Sin Nombre, as well as Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker and Dan Crown of Red Crown Productions, along with Elba. Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King of Participant Media and Donna Gigliotti of Levantine Films are they executive producers.

Earlier this year, Ted Sarandos, Netflix Chief Content Officer, said, “Beasts of No Nation is a powerful film that unfolds beautifully in the hands of director Cary Fukunaga with Idris Elba delivering a career-defining performance. We are so proud to bring a film of this caliber exclusively to Netflix members around the world at the same time as it appears in select theaters.”

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Elba said, “Here’s a kid that’s 10 years old. So what you see in the film is a moment in this kid’s life, something that we can all relate to, whether it’s based in Africa or not: Familes have dinner together, they have jokes, it’s a simple life. I think Cary’s really, really clever to try and give that to the audience so they can understand where this characters starts, and where he ends up.”

Most recently, Netflix announced it will add seven new original series for older kids beginning this December. The leading internet streaming network will launch all new stories from LEGO Bionicle, LEGO Friend, DreamWorks Animation’s all–new original family sitcom Dawn of the Croods and more.

“Roughly half of our 65 million members around the world regularly watch kids content and with the addition of these seven diverse original series we are continuing our strong investment in kids programming,” said Andy Yeatman, Director of Global Kids Content for Netflix. “We know kids love Netflix and that’s in part because they never really outgrow us. We program and recommend new TV shows and movies from preschool through their teen years and into adulthood.”

See the trailer for Beasts of No Nation below.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons