[size=18pt]Is Nollywood documentary? [/size]

~ By Femi Odugbemi.


Every form of storytelling is really trying to articulate a culture. Nollywood is authentically documenting Africa for the world. For non-Africans Nollywood's stories are establishing a counter-narrative that proves that the story of Africa doesn’t start and end with wars and poverty and corruption. Yes, there is wealth under the ground but also there is a wealth of talent and progressive ambition that is changing the face of our cities, the strength of our governments and the capacities of our various peoples to be strong voices and influences in this age of global technology, invention and competitive commerce. For Africans living in the Diaspora, Nollywood has for long represented much more than entertainment. It has been their link to the homeland. Nollywood films have been the ready references to their children and neighbours of the details of their cultural identity. How else can they describe what it means to be an Itsekiri, Zulu, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo or Swahili? How better can they explain the way we dress, the way we speak or for that matter the values that we hold dear that stand us different from their host communities in Europe, America or Asia?


Nollywood has proven much more than cinema. It is Africa's voice to the world, a raised standard taking hold of our own representation to correct decades of misrepresentation. It is beyond entertainment, It is about identity.


Read the complete article in the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®.


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Femi ODUGBEMI is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and photographer. Trained in Film & TV Production at Montana State University, Bozeman, United States, he worked as Film & Radio Producer at Lintas Advertising and later as Associate Creative Director at STB-McCann, Lagos. In these places, he wrote, directed and produced several documentaries, dramas and commercials. Since 1999, he has worked as an Independent Producer/Director. His screen credits include "Like father, Like son" (a TV sitcom) "Who do you Love?" (SFH talk show), "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" (Nigeria's most popular game show), the recent "Lagos Lottery TV Game show," the international documentary "Life in Lagos" for CFI in France, "Oui Voodoo"(a cultural documentary) "Metamorphosis" (a musical documentary on the life of the legendary Nigerian conductor Steve Rhodes) "Bar Beach Blues" a multiple-awards winning film, and "Maroko" a political full-length feature. In the last couple of years he has also produced "Mama Put" a New Direction short film and the critically-acclaimed documentary "Ibadan – Cradle of Literati." His current works includes "TINSEL," MNET's first soap-opera produced in sub-Saharan Africa, and his new documentary titled "Bariga Boy".

Between 2002 and 2006, Odugbemi was the President of the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (ITPAN). He also chaired the Lagos International Forum on Cinema, Motion Picture and Video in Africa, an international film festival that attracted participants and professionals from across the world. He is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the School of Media and Communications (SMC), Pan African University, Nigeria. He is Co-Founder of iRepresent International Documentary Forum and CEO of DVWORX Studios Lagos.

Very simple answer - No it isn't documentary.
Additionally, must we "explain the way we dress" or "the way we speak"? No.

Just what I personally think though.