he first Nigerian films were made by filmmakers such as
Ola Balogun and
Hubert Ogunde in the 1960s, but they were frustrated by the high cost of film production.
[6]
However, television broadcasting in Nigeria began in the 1960s and
received much government support in its early years. By the mid-1980s
every state had its own broadcasting station. Law limited foreign
television content so producers in Lagos began televising local popular
theater productions. Many of these were circulated on video as well, and
a small scale informal video movie trade developed.
The release of the box-office movie
Living in Bondage in 1992 by NEK Video Links owned by Kenneth Nnebue in the eastern city of
Onitsha
set the stage for Nollywood as it is known today. The story goes that
Kenneth Nnebue had an excess number of imported video cassettes which he
then used to shoot the first film.
[7]
The huge success of this film set the pace for others to produce other
films or home videos. Through the business instincts and ethnic links of
the
Igbo
and their dominance of distribution in major cities across Nigeria,
home videos began to reach people across the country. Nollywood exploded
into a booming industry that pushed foreign media off the shelves, an
industry now marketed all over Africa and the rest of the world.
[8] The use of
English rather than
local languages
served to expand the market and aggressive marketing using posters,
trailers, and television advertising also played a role in Nollywood's
success.
Since then, thousands of movies have been released. One of the first
Nigerian movies to reach international renown was the 2003 release
Osuofia in London, starring
Nkem Owoh, the famous Nigerian comedic actor. Modern Nigerian cinema’s most prolific
auteur is
Chico Ejiro
("Mr. Prolific"), who directed over 80 films in an 8-year period and
brags that he can complete production on a movie in as little as three
days.
[9] Ejiro’s brother
Zeb is the best-known director of these videos outside of the country.
The first Nollywood films were produced with traditional analog video, such as
Betacam SP, but today almost all Nollywood movies are produced using
digital video technology.
[10][11][12][13] The Guardian
has cited Nigeria's film industry as the third largest in the world in
terms of earnings and estimated the industry to bring in US$200 million
per year.
[14][15] In 2009,
Unesco
described Nollywood as being the second-biggest film industry in the
world after Bollywood in terms of output and called for greater support
for the industry, which is the second-largest employer in Nigeria.
[16]
Production
Most movies are not produced in studios. Video movies are shot on
location all over Nigeria with hotels, homes, and offices often rented
out by their owners and appearing in credits in the movies. The most
popular locations are shot in the cities of
Lagos,
Enugu, and
Abuja. However, distinct regional variations appear between the northern movies made primarily in the
Hausa language, the western
Yoruba movies, the
Edo language movies shot in
Benin City, and the
Igbo movies shot in the southeast. Many of the big producers have offices in
Surulere,
Lagos.
In an effort to improve the quality of Nigerian film productions, the
country’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, pledged in 2010 to create a
$200 million loan fund to help finance film projects.
[17] Nigerian directors adopt new technologies as soon as they become affordable.
[citation needed] Editing, music, and other post-production work are done with common computer-based systems.
[citation needed]
International co-productions
With an eye to attracting an international mainstream audience,
Nigerian film-makers are increasingly turning to the West for actors
like
Isaiah Washington, and
Thandie Newton.
[18]
The same developments are taking place in co-productions with
film-makers from other African countries. The 'Princess of Africa,'
Yvonne Chaka Chaka, starred in
Foreign Demons, a film set in Nigeria as well as her native South Africa.
[19]
Feathered Dreams, is the first Nollywood-Ukrainian co-production. Set in
Ukraine, the film stars Nigerian actress
Omoni Oboli Ukrainian actor Andrey Rozhen who also directed it.
[20]
Distribution
The primary distribution centers are
Idumota Market on
Lagos Island, 51 Iweka Road in
Onitsha in
Anambra State, and 1/3 Pound Road
Aba in
Abia State.
Currently, Nigerian films outsell Hollywood films in Nigeria and many
other African countries. Some 300 producers turn out movies at an
astonishing rate—somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 a year. The films go
straight to DVD and VCD discs. Thirty new titles are delivered to
Nigerian shops and market stalls every week, where an average film sells
50,000 copies. A hit may sell several hundred thousand. Discs sell for
two dollars each, making them affordable for most Nigerians and
providing astounding returns for the producers.
Most of the films are produced by independent companies and
businessmen. However, the big money for films in Nigeria is made in the
direct-to-video market. The average film costs between US$17,000 and
US$23,000, is shot on video in just a week—selling up to 150,000–200,000
units nationwide in one day. With this type of return, more and more
are getting into the film business there. By most reports, Nollywood is a
$500-million industry. And it keeps growing. According to Frank
Ikegwuonu, author of
Who's Who in Nollywood,
[21]
about "1,200 films are produced in Nigeria annually." And more and more
filmmakers are heading to Nigeria because of "competitive distribution
system and a cheap workforce." Further, Nigerian films seem to be better
received by the market when compared to foreign films because "those
films are more family oriented than the American films."
Nigerian movies are available in even the most remote areas of the
continent. The last few years have seen the growing popularity Nigerian
films among the people of African diaspora in both Europe, North America
and the Caribbean. Nigerian films are currently receiving wider
distribution as Nigerian producers and directors are attending more
internationally acclaimed film festivals. In the USA, viewers can watch
Nollywood and other West African movies on
Afrotainment. On-line streaming is gradually becoming part of the distribution system with sites like IrokoTV and allafricancinema
[22] showing Nollywood video content.
Themes
Many Nollywood movies have themes that deal with the moral dilemmas facing modern Africans. Some movies promote the
Christian or
Islamic
faiths, and some movies are overtly evangelical. Others, however,
address questions of religious diversity, such as the popular film
One God One Nation, about a Muslim man and a Christian woman who want to marry but go through many obstacles.
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