Movies in Hausa, the language of the largest ethnic group in northern Nigeria and the lingua franca in that region, are extremely popular in the predominantly Muslim north. In traffic, the DVDs with their candy-coloured covers are big sellers, and it is not uncommon to see a film crew shooting scenes in the streets of Kano, the largest city in the north.This film industry has been coined Kannywood, after the city it originated in. According to statistics from the National Film and Video Censors Board. Its movies make up about 30 percent of the films produced by the Nigerian-based film industry popularly called Nollywood, which is often portrayed as the third-largest in the world, after Hollywood and Bollywood.
Watching Hausa Movies Online
Kannywood even has its own TV channel, Africa Magic Hausa, showing Hausa movies on satellite TV. It also has dedicated online streaming websites like MaigizoTV which has a nearly inexhaustible array of the latest Hausa movies online, making it possible to  watch free Kannywood movies online. MaigizoTV also has the perk of having it's Hausa movies subtitled to help those who do not understand the native language still enjoy it's stories.Maigizo's Kannywood movies treats the viewer to a mishmash of cultural influences. Before the local film industry came into existence in the 1990s, northerners watched Hindi language films from India. The glamour of the Bollywood musicals has rubbed off on the Hausa movies, some of which feature singing and dancing.A recent favourite Hausa movie of mine, Arziki Riga portrays a difference in marriage life and how to deal with it with the tale of 2 men married to women of different characters. While the first couple enjoys harmonious marital life the other couple live in hell. The first man had to endured insults from his wife as she treat him disdainfully until help finally came when his financial situation improves.
 
Connecting With Hausa Movies Online
Most Kannywood movies have a devoutly Muslim tone, and quite often the very last line of the end credits is "Glory be to God". Many of these movies also denounce the hypocrisy of the ruling classes who preach piousness in public while sinning in private.Hausa movie plots are often based on soyayya novels, popular local romance novels mainly written and read by women. The love stories - soyayya means love - evolve around relationships and marriage.They don't shy away from the problems women face in everyday life, such as forced marriage, sexual molestation, the lack of female education, and domestic violence - matters this society is not accustomed to discussing openly.It is hardly surprising that women, who for the first time see their own experiences reflected in the public domain, form a significant part of Kannywood's audience. They also play a considerable role in the industry itself. According to the Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria, 75 percent of the Hausa movie actors are female, as is the case for two-thirds of the association's members - from singers and producers to actors and make-up artists.

Excerpted from MaigizoTV