No More Igbo Movies: Why?

I myself would like an answer to that question. I thank God that Yoruba directors still make our movies in our tongue else I would have given up on the film industry a long time ago.

I remember during secondary school days how popular Igbo movies were, the stories were good and I used to love them almost as much as the Yoruba ones. Now you hardly see them anymore. Seems like the producers have sold out to ONLY cater to the English market which is sad.

not too marketable plus you hardly recognise the actors, hard to believe but some people buy films based on the faces on the cover 

Most people outside of the Igbo speaking states don't actually understand Ibo

No More Igbo Movies: Why?


Because the producers of Igbo movies (those days) are the same producers of the English home movies (nowadays); they believe the English movies cut across more than Igbo language that is why they settled for English.

There was a period when the Yoruba movie maker’s wanted to join the English movies too but the Igbo marketers fought them with both tooth and nails claiming that the English genre is for the Igbo’s alone. (Though these claims are not pronounced openly, but all the players in the industry know this as a fact)

Ask TK (TundeKelani) and OGD (Tade Ogidan) they will tell you what they are going through in the hands of the Igbo marketers.  The marketers claim that the two (TK and OGD) should just stay with their parapo brothers and should not ventures into their territory.

Before you pull a gun, I'm an Igbo too. Our problem is not only in the movies industry but also in our everyday life and homes. We don't appreciate our language/culture instead we try to claim the Oyibos that we're not. Everybody in Nigeria don't speak/understand Yoruba but they always have movies in their language! same if you go to the north but come down east our movies/music is either trying to be American or anywhere other than Africa. I know alot of Yoruba families here in US that their kids speak/understand Yoruba, I also have Yoruba friends that we speak nothing but Yoruba whenever we run into eachother while for we Igbos its different. The average igbo family home/abroad wan turn Oyibo! whenever I visit Nigeria, the Yorubas that know me always speak Yoruba to me while the Igbos will come with some "WZUP nonsense" Lets not even go into some of our girls with their own Oyibo cux that will set Nairaland on fire!

The Igbos are smarter, they produce home videos in english, making them sell more. 95 percent of english nollywood

movies producers and actors are Igbos.  Nigerians are not the only people that watch out home videos, so other non Nigeria

viewers will be able to watch our movies too been that its was acted in English. English home video is more marketable.

I know some yoruba movies are subtitled,  but i don't think that is enough for non yoruba speakers. Igbo producers

keep up your good job, keep it ENGLISH, that is the way to go. Nigeria is a multi language country, you can't just keep

producing movies in your own dialet alone.

@thiefofheart

 Â   Why must you be so stuck to your own dialet. The Igbos do use their own name too, it just depend on the producer

 and the type of movie.  Nigerians do have english name too, i know its very rare to see a yoruba person with an english

name but other non yoruba Nigerians do have an english name.

I think yoruba producers should stick to acting their movies in yoruba, because subtitled yoruba movies that i watch are too traditional

 and too much juju stuff going on.

abeg na wetin be this coffee wey eveybody de tell everybody make them wake up to smell

you are more likely to produce a good Nigerian film when you use the traditional/native language
one of the reason naija english film suck is because they do itk using other peoples language and ideas

correct!  a movie should be made in your mother language and it can be dumbed into other languages for others to view.

language is your culture; your everday life.

you can make a movie in a language, be it your mother language or not. But, speak clearly.

what matters more is a clear narrative, an understandable and easy to follow script, a beautiful cast, and solid production.

Greed is killing their diluted movie industry (in Nigeria)

@TOH

It's evident that you have grudges with Igbos. Whether it is out of jealousy or anything, i don't know. All i can tell you is to keep it up.

The fact remains that be it yoruba or nollywood movies, they are all the same story line and they all suck.
No be Nigeria? ooh please!

TOH doesn't hate igbo people, she's just brash.  She might come across as being too hypercritical, but that's because you prefer her to address the topic in a subtle tone.  She's just being original.

More Yoruba people prefer yoruba films, because their actors are able to act more naturally, since they're speaking their native language.  It lessens their consciousness of the language they're speaking, since they know they're not likely to mess up a word.  Whereas, with the English actors, very many of them force their acts, force themselves to speak the English language, which they're not very good at, and worst of all, force themselves to speak in foreign accents.  It takes them out of their comfort zone and it kills the film.

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I think another problem is the number of Buyers. While the Yoruba firms have cross beyoud Nigeria to other yoruba speaking countries. It would be difficult for Igbo to do the same. And the number of Yorubas speaker out number the Igbos speaker. That also is another factor.

 Yoruba actor should be forced to do english movies at the same time do Yoruba movies.

 I think Yoruba movies sells more than even nigeria english movies in the nigeria market . But I would advice the Yorubas actors to also get involve in English movies too. I think it is better for them to do both at the same time. They really do not need Igbo marketer to do that, as someone claim. If the content is pure and not worldy, they an use the redeemed church to sell it.   On the Igbo issue , the problem i see is that  express by  prince  see below,

It is the igbos themself that is the problem, I am yoruba, i speak igbo,  When you run into an igbo man or woman and you speak igbo to them they really would switch over to English.  Even I have started to forget words in igbo, so imagine what happen to kids born abroad. In my city Toronto, we use to have a Nigeria School. It closed down. Nigeria stop bringing their children to school i was told. too much wahala for the owners.
 
 Igbo believe you are a villager if you do not speak english, an educated igbo shows how arrogant he is if he knows a few word in english and may be you can't. They believe it is a thing of status. Until igbo are proud of where they come from, it is a waste trying.  Igbos  look down on other igbo who do not speak english.   that is not good. If you are not proud of what is yours , noone would be for you. They should learn from India.

Look at the food business abroad too, must igbo Nigeria food court or business cost down faster than one by Yorubas. An igboman would not be seen dead in one of those food places. He likes MAC with burger. In canada and the USA, igbo business do not make it because of lack of trust among the igbo. number of Nigeria churches in canada is over 40 and  in the USA is over 600, UK over 90.  So the population is there for business and the market. Second generation canadian or american are not most of the time counted as nigerian. In canada we have many Nigerian canadian where the media need talk about them been nigerian.  Jero Iginla was canada men hockey captain, is a nigerian canadian, the boy get money,  several national basketball player, Njoku. catherine Koleosho and many more. the system do not count second generation as Nigerian. So you can imagine how many it would be abroad.


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prince_onx <Picture>Re: No More Igbo Movies: Why?
« #7 on: Yesterday at 09:54:45 PM »

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Before you pull a gun, I'm an Igbo too. Our problem is not only in the movies industry but also in our everyday life and homes. We don't appreciate our language/culture instead we try to claim the Oyibos that we're not. Everybody in Nigeria don't speak/understand Yoruba but they always have movies in their language! same if you go to the north but come down east our movies/music is either trying to be American or anywhere other than Africa. I know alot of Yoruba families here in US that their kids speak/understand Yoruba, I also have Yoruba friends that we speak nothing but Yoruba whenever we run into eachother while for we Igbos its different. The average igbo family home/abroad wan turn Oyibo! whenever I visit Nigeria, the Yorubas that know me always speak Yoruba to me while the Igbos will come with some "WZUP nonsense" Lets not even go into some of our girls with their own Oyibo cux that will set Nairaland on fire!


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I am wondering as well.
I think it is because igbo do not value there culture. Not only on igbo movies, even in there dress, there language, music, greeting, etc.
Do not be surprise to know that igbo film sales like wide fire because any igbo man understands it without interpreter. I was surprise to find out that in Enugu Ezike ( a town in Enugu State) with about .5m people at home, more than half watch films more than twice a week. When ever igbo film is sloted in, every one gets interested.
I am an igbo man and is worried over this. God will help us that our language not to go into extinction in the next 12yrs as UNESCO predicted sometime ago.

igbos use their culture to act english films,  ok?  its desame thing