the problem is that of short sightedness. one man can only tell a story to his friends and family. when you are attmpting to get a wider audience, you should begin to branch out and call others in.  
having worked with award winning producers like steve dawdry of the billy elliot fame and host of others i see that we are not even 1 foot into what will branch out into the international market.

a typical movie that you edit into maximum 2 hours takes about 9months to 18 months to make here before you even start thinking of cinemas and DVD's i heard it is almost 1 - 2 weeks in nigeria.  with one writter, producer and maybe executive producer.  and worst part is you get nigeria films in parts 1,2 and even 3 in less than 6 months.

what the guys are into is quick money and giving nigeria a very bad image.  here in england the BBC an channel 4 both public service TV screens films from the senegal and the gambia even subtitling them because of the french they speak and i wonder why we cant get anything out of Nigeria.

we have the remi adefarasins, david ogunde and other award winning nigerian cinematographers that can be easily available to point these people in the right direction if they want to learn how the industry can move forward.  there is more to screenplays and doing films than owning a camera and a few miguided people.

what they dont realise is that people like film council stores these films in their archives for posterity and judgement on how not make a film. i saw better acting in my secondary school days than some of these movies show

you loose more money rushing lop-sided half backed films into the market. ideas take time to mature. there are many problems with nigerian films. they don't get treated after filming.  it is kind of what you see is what you get approach to production.  if you over expose at filming you don't go back to editing to correct the lighting.  if you underexpose well the buyers/viewers will not notice.  sorry gov these days you just can't get any rubbish onto dvds and hope to make money from it in the international market.  nigerians will soon run out of cash buying these trash

my sister told me she see these films being sold by the indians here in england cheaply. why do you think that is? i know not every movie house have the money to do big work  but all these one man band telling same old story about people rituals and torturing women will not help us.

film productions are always collaboration of many businesses and entities. if i came up with my stories as a writter a different producer can easily see the folly or strenght of the scripts.  by the time casting directors and actors who know what they are doing comes in the whole work get richer and better. at  production stage most of its strenghts and weaknesses have been checked and crossed checked. i don't even know if these guys do audience research. 

you need to know there are almost about 40% - 60% that are commissioned and recored that never see the light of day.  these one man bands are hungry people and hungry people don't do good work generally. 

we need a healthier robust industry that will help the nations image.  my ex-boss was a director of the UK film council and i know for a fact that loads of films that will not get financial backing if they are going to potray the gov or the english in a bad light.

films are about propaganda first and foremost.  if it entertains goodluck but it is about selling an idea and impressions of whatever want to be sold.  i don't know if there are people there regulating these people and stopping them from getting these trash on air.

when you see products being deliberately placed in films watch their sales rocket.  when you see places being deliberately visited or mentioned, watch the tourist figures to these places.  there are location scouts doing nicely as a full time work making killing selling some God forsaken towns in north america and europe.  why can't we do the same  instead of these living room scenes for a whole 2 hrs movies.

Talk they say is very cheap.

In as much as i don't appreciate Nigerian movies because of it's cheap production and fake storyline, the fact will always remain that in order to create a good movie, funding is essential.

I get amazed when people try to compare nollywood to hollywood. Producing a Hollywood movie takes months and sophisticated equipments which in turns gulps millions of dollars. Now how many nolliywood producers can afford that?
We would be fooled to think that the Niaja film producers don't know their shortcomings. They know quiet well even far better that most ITK film critics here, but they can't help it.

Some people are busy trying to distinguish the yoruba producers. LOL . It's all crap from a few of their movies I've seen.

@topic
Until well focused directors and very rich producers come into the Nigerian film industry, nothing good will ever come out of nollywood or whichever tribal movie industry. With this kind of arrangement, it would not matter if it's romance, action or comedy.

there is more than enough money within nigeria to fund any film. what is lacking is the infrasture and controls. for instance you ask all these one man band to form  an alliance that would create say for the sake argument 10 production houses that would be a start.  get different people to begin to design the sets and others do the casting and you immediately put in place a means of pulling together the resources for great movies.

someone from working title tv here being refused visa for some work in nigeria because they said they can't gaurantee his security.  all he wanted to do was see if he can network with some people to set up some agency that will help the industry.  by the way he is a nigerian british passport holder not even oyinbo.

the boys doing most of the camera's are good and there good actors  but the scripts and actors turnover are poor.  again that is because of money. most production here dont pay actors up front. you only need about 10- 25% of your budget as cashflow to do a great film if your script and work is right. a good production will always sell itself

good afternoon oga seun

i am not into bashing anybody. you personally is an example of what i wil call an inspired mind.  i have seen how you have taken this work you do and continually fine tuned it for diverse people to get interested in it.  that is what most people want for their money and time.

no matter what film or script you give to an unspired/untrained mind it will still come out bad. i don't have anything against anyone. i am only concerned.  i personally only watch  few clips here and there when i have the time to see it on tv and so far the ones i have seen i will not have allowed to be on Tv if i was schedulling. i spent some 3yrs working for a person who has a casting vote for the BAFTA and the OSCARS  so my friend i have seen some films and have seen what makes a film

some years back i saw the enemy of my soul in nigeria. i personally asked a broadcaster here to make sure he gets the film and show it as many times as a public service to his viewer and i am glad to tell you he did it. my desire is to see an industry we can help open doors for  not criticize.

happy new year to you

oga if you watch that film you will notice what planning and set design does for any film. it is a sad story beautifully told. the guys checked what the proper ending of that film would be and not the predictable make believe that most are.

if i ever see its producers and can get them re work it into 52mins for me in less than 12 months it will make main stream channel here. that is the kind of film you don't push hard because it meets every thing you look for in entertainment.  

you get a little bit of wisdom for the 1hr plus you sit watching. the lights and sound was good too. there are loads of channels looking for good materials and we need to progress fast.

on the genre issue, please note that is not the be all and end all of the industry. it didnt even matter until about 5yrs ago and that was only because north america and europe was beginning to have specialist channels. we are not there yet.  lets get the quality right first

thanks for that. how many of those films have you seen on screen apart from on africa channels?

it is an open forum here. we don't all see things the same way. have you sat down to watch any of these franch african films at all? if you do you will see they got there on merit.

i like the fact that nollywood is amongst yje first 80 in the world. i get screendaily mails and screen magazine  and broadcast weekly.  i will like you to see what they think about the industry. anyone you se here not singing the praise of nollywood do not necesarilly hate the industry. personally i think we can all accept there is rooms for improvement.

and the reporter saying they made it Cannes Film Festival in France is absolutely rubbish because even mama gbenga the akara seller in tinubu square would be allowed into cannes if she buys the ticket and pay the necessary fund to buy sponsorship.

if you want me to get you into any 80 list of any best nigerians in the world and you can give me the money give me 60hrs you will be on CNN and BBC.

we know how these things work. we know how many people didn't push enough buttons to even go up that list if you probe just for instance to be able to get some funding benefits from the European film commission. that is just an example.
there are statistics and there are statistics.

calm down and chill.
how can you say the Gambia and Senegal are unrealistic targets when they are not even bigger than a state in Nigeria?

there is no industry that does not need funding of some kind. even hollywood is subsidized to some degree by the sates. that is not the argument. along with rights comes responsibility. your industry on one hand cannot be asking for govt. assistance and not allow regulations on the other hand. i have asked most people in the know and it boils down to that

it is no minus to be able to make big screen. what world do you live in. how many people have ipods to watch their movies on?

as it is your right to show whatever you want to show can you accept other peoples rights to not think much of it kind sir?

Amata movies are bloody terrible esp Fred's. Tries too hard at being philiosphical and it ends up being boring and crappy.

what are you talking about? . you are not serious so i am going to get on with my day.

you mean the french do the film and only show them in Europe.i know guys from that part of the world that have their own studios here in London. a visit there will shock you. yes they speak the language don't say they don't do their own films themselves. what is wrong with collaborations? have you bothered to see the credits for big busters and see how many movie houses are involved? i will say it against. movie business is not like the beer parlour business that one man run with some few tarts thrown in.

you gave the game away when you used the word "control". i suggest to you only good products can be controlled. the energy the guys use to control the industry can be used to improve & control the scripts/quality.

the french don't do things Nigeria way. they don't do loud self publicity. but hey don't condemn a thing because you want to look tall. and sorry to say this you don't expect french films to be popular in English speaking environment like Nigeria do you? and boy i have you noticed their elegance in selling their culture and tiny little country? don't condemn a good thing thing see what you can learn that is all i will say

enjoy your day and weekend and once more chill. your life don't depend on this. we lived as a nation before nollywood and last time i checked nollywood is not our saviour.

this is my last last post on this matter. is there anything other than this movie business that upsets you? why is this personal to you?

how would you embarrass me if i may ask? and what have i done to you that makes your small mind want to attack me? well you may think you are god in your eyes i respect that but i am too old to be intimidated by people like you.

combrazor, abeg, take pity on josh. the guy is so muddled its painful to read him illuminating his ignorance. one cannot help wondering if he is not a nollywood reject hence all this angst.

josh
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FYI, francophone African arthouse movies are in an entirely different universe from Hollywood and Nollywood. They are esentially artistic creations designed for cognoscenti connoisseurs and not for mass release to the general public unlike Hollywood/Nollywood.These movies largely circulate on the film festival and academic circuits in Europe and North America - they are not shown in commercial movie theatres in the West simply because that is not the target market.

For your education, I suggest you visit SenegaL and Mali. You will soon learn that the native Senegalese watch more of Bollywood and kung fu movies than Sembene Ousmane.