BEGINNING OF NOLLYWOOD

Added Date: Aug 26, 2011 | Category: EARLY BEGINNINGS AND THE HISTORY OF NOLLYWOOD | Viewed: (277) times

What is Nollywood?

Nollywood is the name attributed to Nigeria's movie industry. By definition it is Nigeria's movie industry by Nigerian production teams for the Nigerian people. Nollywood has over the years become a world phenomenon, as its movies are being sold in Ghana, Togo, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa as well as Jamaica, USA and the UK to name a few.

Pascal-UCLA-Speech

Now the name itself had caused a bit of a protest in the earlier days, as a lot of Nigerians felt it was imported and derived from Hollywood and Bollywood. (Not really a bad feat as these are the two heavy weights in the movie industry internationally) There was also that little issue of the name being coined by a foreigner, some didn't like it, but the good thing is that Nollywood as a name has moved far beyond these earlier hiccups, no-one actually thinks twice about the origin of the name today. It has become accepted that Nollywood applies to the Nigerian Movie Industry.

Today Nollywood ranks third in the movie industry after Hollywood (USA) and Bollywood(India). It has been able to hold its own despite so many deterrents, which to name a few include, expensive technical tools of the trade, inconsistent supply of electricity (which is taken for granted in almost every other country in the world), the horrible traffic-jam conditions which can lead to extreme lateness in production times (but the "show must go on"!)

Nollywood movies are made on shoestring budgets ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 a piece spanning 7 to 10 days. This is an incredibly short jam packed production time by all standards.

What makes the industry so unique is that it is a video driven industry, the movies in the early days were produced and put straight on VHS cassettes and then released/ distributed for sale to the public. Now with the new technological advancement in place they are usually on VCD's, the Nigerian refer to the movies as "home video".

Before Nollywood What Was ?

Before Nollywood came into existence in the 1990's was there anything that preceeded it?

Of course there was. Nigeria is a very rich cultural entity, which has for decades produced very beautiful and even world acclaimed theatre productions, which is where this movie industry takes root.

Herbert Ogunde and Ola Balogun amongst of few others all made movies that were shown in the few theatres that existed during the 1970's and 1980's. These films include "Jaiyesimi", "Aiye" and "Taxi-Driver", these were all done in Yoruba (the language of the South Western States), the movies done in English prior to Nollywood include "Bisi Daughter of The River" and Prof. Wole Soyinka's "Blues For A Prodigal" amongst a few others.

The problem of funding, expensive equipment and piracy amongst others made sure that these early efforts did not take root and develop into the great industry as we see it today.

The 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 all Nollywood movies are produced using digital video technology. A March 2006 article in The Guardian 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. 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.

The "Home Videos" Leads The Way To Nollywood

It seems that Nollywood as it is today came into being by accident, or better still as a natural development from a working formula. Confused? Let me explain. The theatre and television stations were the medium that was used by a lot of theatre artists. For some reason a comic actor, Mr.Okpuru Anyanwu, was finding it difficult to get his work shown on the TV stations in Anambra State of Nigeria, out of frustration, he shot his episodes on video and sold them on a weekly basis, to the Igbo speaking populace of the East. Anyanwu was actually onto something great here, as his video's became very popular and his growing audience eagerly waited with anticipation for the next video just as we can't wait for the next episode of our favourite soaps , dramas or comedies, be it "Dr Who", "Friends", "Ugly Betty" or "Desperate Housewives".

When Kenneth Nnebue saw the success of Anyanwu he took it a step futher and produced "Living In Bondage" which unlike Anyanwu's videos, was done in English. "Living In Bondage" went nationwide and was an instant hit. Others caught on to this model and as it caught fire Nollywood was born.

Nollywood actually refers to the movies made in English, which is the reason they have such an universal appeal in the first place. There are between 1000 to 2000 movies produced each year in Nigeria. A majority of these are in English but it is important to note that there are films made in the main Nigerian languages of Yoruba (which has a long standing history of television productions for decades), Igbo and Hausa (the Movie Industry of the North refering to its self as Kallywood, can't say that this has stuck for sure).

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.

Nigerian directors adopt new technologies as soon as they become affordable. Bulky videotape cameras gave way to their digital descendents, which are now being replaced by HD cameras. Editing, music, and other post-production work are done with common computer-based systems.

Distribution

The primary distribution centers are Idumota Market on Lagos Island, and 51 Iweka Road in Onitsha in Anambra 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, 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.

Notable actors

N

ollywood Today and Beyond

Nollywood grew from the rich traditional culture of Nigeria but has evolved and grown into a modern internationally recognised industry. It is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, provides jobs for thousands of Nigerians, who otherwise would have been unemployed and languishing.

Nollywood is now getting viewings at international festivals, which can only be a good thing. "Osofia In London" (2003) put Nollywood on the map in that respect.

Now Nollywood has its own Annual Awards, and there is now a studio in Taippa, Calabar (pictured above).

There are also the STARS of Nollywood, who mostly are talented individuals. In the old days the actors were the producer, playwirights etc, but now its more streamlined. The workers in this industry are graduates some even have a second degree Nigerians are talented, inovative and productive and the success of Nollywood has proved this.

Light at the end of the Tunnel

The current president of Nigeria, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has committed to take Nollywood to higher grounds by building the “Abuja Film Village”. Abuja Film Village is designed to attract infrastructures that will make Abuja “The world Center of Film and Entertainment Excellence”. Under the leadership of Segun Oyekunle as the MD/CEO, Abuja Film Village will raise the professional know- how of the Nigerian Film Industry. To affirm his commitment and support to Nollywood, President Goodluck Jonathan is releasing a $200 million loan to the Film Industry for interesting film projects. I can sincerely affirm that there has never been a better time for meaningful partnership between UCLA and Nollywood as we are ready to raise Nollywood to new heights.

Thanks to UCLA, the state of California and the United States of America as well. Thanks to Claudia Hoffmannfor contacting me, Sheila Breeding for handling all the paperwork, my agent Warren Beatty, AAB Talent, Toronto, Canada, my manager and beloved brother Oscar Atuma, my publicist Ngozi Mba, the president of the Film Makers Association of Nigeria “Mr. Tony Abulu” for helping me with this speech, and last but not the least, The Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, USA.

God bless America, God bless Nigeria, God bless and guide Nollywood, God bless Africa, God bless the children of Africa and God bless you all.