In my last post I outline how Nollywood developed and transformed into the 2nd largest movie industry in the world. In this post we will look into the popular themes and the current challenges of Nollywood.
Although these days Hollywood movies are screened in Nigeria, they are not as popular as local movies and Nollywood movies clearly outsells them not just in Nigeria but in many other parts of Africa as well. Hollywood movies do not always depict Nigerians in good light. Depiction of Nigerians in the recent hit District 9 sparked a lot of anger in Nigeria and it is banned there. The themes shown in Nollywood movies are more appealing and accepted locally. In fact, a lot of people feels Nollywood serves as an ambassador for Nigeria. Most of the movies presents the modern Nigeria and its rich ethnic diversity.
The common themes are the same as around most of the world. They are centered around Corruption, Politics, Love, Family and Religion. These are the topics that people daily talk about and relate to. One of the popular film “One God for One Country” is about a Muslim man and a Christian woman who wants to marry but through many obstacles. Nigerians are deeply religious and shades of it is seen in the movies as well. These movies are shot all across Nigeria in hotels, offices, homes and guest houses. Although, the most popular locations are Lagos, Abuja and Enugu.
Being a 20 year old industry, people have already started questioning the quality of movies and say Nollywood is about Quantity and not Quality. But we have to understand that it is storytelling which is more important. 60% of population still live under $1 a day. For them it is still unimaginable to buy expensive movie tickets and watch the blockbusters in theatres. Rather a VCD or a DVD which they can easily buy on the streets of Nigeria for around $3 is much more feasible which they can watch together as a family or community on VCD/DVD players. The industry also provides employment opportunity to a large number of people. The budgets are low and so are pay cheques. Therefore, it is very important for them to continuously make movies and keep people employed. Sometimes quantity does matter and there are good movies as well which do good internationally as well. Osufia in London, made in 2003, is one of the highest grossing home video movie and did exceedingly well internationally.
Nollywood faces problems which are mostly unheard to Hollywood producers. As most of the movies are shot on the streets of major cities they have to deal with “Area Boys” who charge taxes from producers to allow them to shoot the movies. At times, there will be vendors shouting on the streets while the camera is still on and the Producers have to pay money to keep them away. Believe it or not, traffic jam, is also one of the crippling issue with Nollywood. Crew members arrive late on the set because of traffic. An industry which thrives on making a movie in 7 days, can get its schedule upset if people arrive hours late on the set. Power-cuts is another issue which they have to deal with and Finance is always an issue.
In all this, the role of Censor Board is really commendable. Imagine they have to certify 40-50 films a week. However, they do not allow wrong messages and values to be passed on.
What Next?
As mentioned before after 20 years of existence Nollywood is at a crossroad where there is a constant question about quality of movies. Some people say depiction of Black Magic and Voodoo also hurts the image of Nigeria. However, the industry still faces inherent problems.
However, as Franco Sacchi had said on the TED Forum, Close your eyes and imagine a world where there are no stories. Its hard to imagine, isn’t it.
When we had no means, stories were told besides the campfire at night. And Nigerians certainly don’t mind watching the stories of today on their VCDs and DVDs.
P.S.
Following is the list of some of the famous documentaries on Nollywood:
- This is Nollywood
- Nollywood Babylon
- Welcome to Nollywood
- Good Copy Bad Copy
Disclaimer : The views expressed on the blog are mostly from what I read on internet about Nollywood. I had no chance to experience Nollywood first hand.
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