Nigerian Films

I was introduced to Nigerian films during my college days in Memphis. My then boyfriend, now husband, who is from the West Indies, as well as some other friends of ours from African countries  loved to watch videos of Nigerian comedies and dramas. I'd watch the comedies along with everybody else but at the time, as an American with little experience communicating with people from other countries, I had trouble understanding the accents--those of my husband, his friends, and the Nigerian actors.  That didn't stop me from laughing on cue with everybody else though. I got use to them after a while and eventually stopped faking amusement and came to actually enjoy the comedies.

Little-known fact: Nigeria's film industry, also known as Nollywood, is the third largest film industry in the world. We all know how hard Hollywood struggles to sell African-American films to wide audiences. While there are plenty of quality independent films featuring black actors out there, they're not widely viewed and aren't raking in the big bucks. Nollywood produces films across all movie genres that employ thousands of African actors in a $250 million industry with audiences largely throughout Africa, Canada and the UK...and maybe soon in the U.S.

I got an email last week about a new photobook by award-winning filmmaker Cybel Martin that documents her trip along with other filmmakers and NYU alumni to Lagos, Nigeria to conduct workshops at the African Film Academy. You can read about the trip and others involved <<here>>. The photobook is only currently  available through blurb.com. There's a cool preview of the first 15 pages over there--check it out <<here>>.

This story is also posted on my other blog at  HoneyMag.com.

Comments

[jdid]

I only discovered this whole industry a few months ago when I was home and one of my friends was selling bootlegs of african movies lol

[abeni]

I am not a fan but I have watched a few. They are huge in Vincy though.Thanks for dropping by

[GC]

I was introduced by a friend. Mr. Ibu is one of my favorites. These movies can be sooooo drawn out but I think that is part of their appeal. They are different from the fast-moving hollywood type of movie. When a character is sweeping the floor, they are really sweeping the floor. It's like theater, on film.

[Myrna]

To anon, You asked the question what Nigerian Theatre trnoitidas? We can start by naming the practitioners to remind us how theatre trnoitidas come into existence. This is not an exhaustive list, but its a start: Herbert Ogunde, Duro Ladipo, Kola Ogunmola, Ola Rotimi, Soyinka, Kole Omotosho, JP Clerk, Zulu Sofola,Tess Onwueme, Femi Osofisan, Bode Sowande, Tunde Fatanyde and Olu Obafemi etc. Many of these writers works are still been performed to a full house all over the country. Don't forget that Nigeria, especially amongst the Yorubas have a long history of travelling theatres. I still have fresh memories of going to the national theatre back Ain the 80s to watch Ogunde's performances and to a packed audience. I remember travelling with my granny to Ibadan for some trading and we arrived at the UI and Ola Rotimi's The Gods was in full swing. We went in and it was jammed packed. I didn't really understand the play at the time and neither did my granny, but the point I am trying to say is that the theatre was packed. I remember my gran saying that she prefered the likes of duro Ladipo and Ogunde and whenever they were in town they will all dress up in their best outfit to watch them. She mentioned another group that use to perform in Ijebu Ode. From what she described, the whole production was very organised and formalised and her own mother and their friends would cook and house some of these artists whenever they were in town. So please, before you go shooting off about lack of theatre trnoitidas or the formalisation of entertainment, you wil do well to do some historical research about the importances of formal theatre to different Nigeria cultures, especially those with monarchical structures. As I read some of the response to jeremy's statement, I am reminded of a line in fela's song: 'a bi a gbe po,without me your city go smell like shit, i dey sing, i dey dance without me you no go happy'...something to that effect. Only the highest form of philistanism will say that if artists 'cannot make a profitable business out of their art, then they need to find day job like the rest of us'. So what day job will suggest to doctors, lawyers, engineers, lecturers who are just merely surviving on their salary in Nigeria? If you don't answer any other question,pls answer this one for me.

[Rizlbinahmad]

Yeah, I heard about this. I was hoping to write a sssbiumion until I noticed it was only open to Nigerian nationals. Whilst I understand this clause, it is a crying shame. As your blog and many others have shown, there is interest in Nigeria from across the globe. It would be impossible to imagine a country not in touch with a Nigerian in some form, given that they make up 1 of every 4 africans!Anyway, it seems the BCC World Service is focusing on Nigeria tomorrow. This may be of interest to you and your readers.As for the competition, I may just submit an entry and let them bin it straight off. If I'm lucky it may actually get read - lol.