As a rising Movie Production power-house, Nollywood has come of age. Less than a decade, this icon has become the envy of the whole world, especially with its focus on producing Movies for Nigerians, and mostly by Nigerians - both at home and abroad. As if it has a life of its own, it has risen from the days of abyss when people wonder if the name really mean anything up to a point now when the name "Nollywood" means Nigerian Movies and Nigeria Music, not just to Nigerians but to Africans and people of all walks of life. Nollywood is a common name now known to people of Kenya, South-Africa, Ivory coast, and so on - just to name a few
There was a very distinct resistance to the name because of its foreign connotation, especially the similarity it has with another popular world-known movies production power-house "Hollywood". Despite this initial resistance, many have come to terms with the name, especially considering the fact that all actors, consumers, and movie plots are Nigeria-centric.
It is refreshing to note that, at first, many of the movies from Nollywood were of such low quality that nobody expected a sudden risen to such a sudden fame of this Nigerian concept; In recent years, however, this concern no longer hold true; Now, Nollywood movies are first class - both in terms of maturity of its plots and also in terms of the type and quality of equipment being used to produce these movies.
Despite dismal conditions, unstable and deteriorating economic condition, Nollywood has managed to stay relevant on the world stage. With Nollywood fiercely competing with the two other world known movie production power-houses, it has definitely come of age. The cost of producing Nigerian movies is substantially lower because most actors are sourced locally, because Nigerian directors are ingenious - plus you can vouch for Nigerians ability to deliver outstanding movies with little resources.
Until the recent technological breakthrough of the last decade in terms of cheap means of movie production, the history of movie-making in Nigeria was the story of an unprofitable Endeavour filled with tears and financial ruins because most of those who attempted to produce movies always end up with a red-inked balance sheet. As a result of this imbalance, most Nigerians consume mostly foreign movies. Legendary movies such as Fist of Fury (1972), means of the Dragon (1972), key in the Dragon (1973). Even right before that, famous movies such as "Bruce Lee" in (Lo Wei's, the enormous superior (1971) were common.
Despite the crushing financial constraint of producing movies before the last decade, some theatrical groups, through excellent theatrical skills and astounding performances managed to transcend stage performance and move into movie productions - mostly based on the old celluloid capability of the 70's. Still fresh in our memories are those who actually led the pre-Nollywood era. Great performers such as Ola Balogun, Eddie Ugbomah, and late Herbert Ogunde
Even the recent Nigerian Music artist springing up from various parts of Nigeria, who are leveraging influence of music from other countries, blending imported rhythms with the tunes of native melodies, bridging and mixing lyrics from various origins with some of the forgotten songs of Nigerian yester-years, are all benefiting from the various capabilities provided by opportunities made available by the presence of Nollywood in Nigeria; This is not limited to financial support in form of sponsorship, but also the availability of various internet based outlets such as YouTube.com, NaijaMotion.com and others
Back to Nollywood: Nigerian movies that were once enjoyed by only Nigerians is now accessible to Nigerians in Diaspora, but more importantly, Nigerian Music and Nigeria Movies are now enjoyed by other Africans and, in fact, these are available and enjoyed by Non-Africans. Looking into the future, I see Nollywood becoming an icon on the same scale as Hollywood or Bollywood. More significant is the very likelihood that Nollywood will one day dominate the global stage and receive the batton from Hollywood, allowing it to dictate not just social-cultural benchmarks but also morph social-cultural identities.
There was a very distinct resistance to the name because of its foreign connotation, especially the similarity it has with another popular world-known movies production power-house "Hollywood". Despite this initial resistance, many have come to terms with the name, especially considering the fact that all actors, consumers, and movie plots are Nigeria-centric.
It is refreshing to note that, at first, many of the movies from Nollywood were of such low quality that nobody expected a sudden risen to such a sudden fame of this Nigerian concept; In recent years, however, this concern no longer hold true; Now, Nollywood movies are first class - both in terms of maturity of its plots and also in terms of the type and quality of equipment being used to produce these movies.
Despite dismal conditions, unstable and deteriorating economic condition, Nollywood has managed to stay relevant on the world stage. With Nollywood fiercely competing with the two other world known movie production power-houses, it has definitely come of age. The cost of producing Nigerian movies is substantially lower because most actors are sourced locally, because Nigerian directors are ingenious - plus you can vouch for Nigerians ability to deliver outstanding movies with little resources.
Until the recent technological breakthrough of the last decade in terms of cheap means of movie production, the history of movie-making in Nigeria was the story of an unprofitable Endeavour filled with tears and financial ruins because most of those who attempted to produce movies always end up with a red-inked balance sheet. As a result of this imbalance, most Nigerians consume mostly foreign movies. Legendary movies such as Fist of Fury (1972), means of the Dragon (1972), key in the Dragon (1973). Even right before that, famous movies such as "Bruce Lee" in (Lo Wei's, the enormous superior (1971) were common.
Despite the crushing financial constraint of producing movies before the last decade, some theatrical groups, through excellent theatrical skills and astounding performances managed to transcend stage performance and move into movie productions - mostly based on the old celluloid capability of the 70's. Still fresh in our memories are those who actually led the pre-Nollywood era. Great performers such as Ola Balogun, Eddie Ugbomah, and late Herbert Ogunde
Even the recent Nigerian Music artist springing up from various parts of Nigeria, who are leveraging influence of music from other countries, blending imported rhythms with the tunes of native melodies, bridging and mixing lyrics from various origins with some of the forgotten songs of Nigerian yester-years, are all benefiting from the various capabilities provided by opportunities made available by the presence of Nollywood in Nigeria; This is not limited to financial support in form of sponsorship, but also the availability of various internet based outlets such as YouTube.com, NaijaMotion.com and others
Back to Nollywood: Nigerian movies that were once enjoyed by only Nigerians is now accessible to Nigerians in Diaspora, but more importantly, Nigerian Music and Nigeria Movies are now enjoyed by other Africans and, in fact, these are available and enjoyed by Non-Africans. Looking into the future, I see Nollywood becoming an icon on the same scale as Hollywood or Bollywood. More significant is the very likelihood that Nollywood will one day dominate the global stage and receive the batton from Hollywood, allowing it to dictate not just social-cultural benchmarks but also morph social-cultural identities.
About the Author:
NaijaMotion.com is the online destination for Nigerian Artist to upload and showcase their talent to Nigerians and the whole world. Click here to check out Nigeria Music Artists. There are many interesting videos on this site. You an watch Nigeria comedy and Fantastic Videos
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