Should Nigerian FilmMakers Make Short Films?

no, Nigerian filmmakers don't have to make shorts because the Nigerian production and financing cycle is completely different from that of the US, Europe, South America or Asia.

the point of making shorts (apart from the obvious building of skills) is to act as a calling card so that studios or other financiers can see in a brief, concise format that you know how to tell a story with a beginning, middle and end, and that you have an interesting vision or sense of style and hence, are worth the investment of possibly millions to make a feature.

in Nigeria, we don't have studios--don't even really have independent financiers. most producers have to finance their movies out of pocket, so they really don't have to prove the quality of their work to anybody. they just get the money and make a movie.

probably more importantly, the Nigerian market has extremely low standards, so it's not necessary to demonstrate that one properly knows how to tell a story. the short film is the "final exam" or maybe the dissertation to prove that one knows how to make a film, but nobody is even looking at those credentials anyway.

so the question is: SHOULD Nigerian filmmakers make short films?

i say "yes," because watching these Nollywood movies that go on for 2 or 3 hours with nothing even resembling a story, it would definitely help people learn how to tell a story, because if you can't tell a full story in 10 minutes, you probably won't be able to tell one in 2 hours either.

i don't think it's hard to get actors for a short film, though. as long as you pay them, they'll act. just because it's not a commercial film doesn't mean the actors shouldn't get paid for their work.

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