Drienzia:
Nollywood has really developed over the years..I just hope some persons can just improve the kind of movies we produce in yorubawood and kanuri. Joke apart we know the Igbo nollywood is the best we have in Nigeria, and the most recognised outside Nigeria. Am not saying Yorubas aint doing well, dont misquote me, i think they should start producing quality Movies, They should go to Asaba and see things for themselves. Nollywood has really developed.

You had to come and spout rubbish.

mmsen:


You had to come and spout rubbish.

Call it rubbish without pointing the flaws? lol, then I'm right...

anonymous6:
ASABA, Nigeria — Sitting on a blue plastic stool in the sweltering heat, Ugezu J. Ugezu, one of Nigeria’s top filmmakers, was furiously rewriting his script as the cameras prepared to roll. “Cut!” he shouted after wrapping up a key scene, a confrontation between the two leading characters. Then, under his breath, he added, “Good as it gets.”

This was the seventh — and last — day of shooting in a village near here for “Beyond the Dance,” Mr. Ugezu’s story of an African prince’s choice of a bride, and the production had been conducted at a breakneck pace.

“In Nollywood, you don’t waste time,” he said. “It’s not the technical depth that has made our films so popular. It’s because of the story. We tell African stories.”

The stories told by Nigeria’s booming film industry, known as Nollywood, have emerged as a cultural phenomenon across Africa, the vanguard of the country’s growing influence across the continent in music, comedy, fashion and even religion.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, overtook its rival, South Africa, as the continent’s largest economy two years ago, thanks in part to the film industry’s explosive growth. Nollywood — a term I helped coin with a 2002 article when Nigeria’s movies were just starting to gain popularity outside the country — is an expression of boundless Nigerian entrepreneurialism and the nation’s self-perception as the natural leader of Africa, the one destined to speak on the continent’s behalf.

“The Nigerian movies are very, very popular in Tanzania, and, culturally, they’ve affected a lot of people,” said Songa wa Songa, a Tanzanian journalist. “A lot of people now speak with a Nigerian accent here very well thanks to Nollywood. Nigerians have succeeded through Nollywood to export who they are, their culture, their lifestyle, everything.”

Nollywood generates about 2,500 movies a year, making it the second-biggest producer after Bollywood in India, and its films have displaced American, Indian and Chinese ones on the televisions that are ubiquitous in bars, hair salons, airport lounges and homes across Africa.

The industry employs a million people — second only to farming — in Nigeria, pumping $600 million annually into the national economy, according to a 2014 report by the United States International Trade Commission. In 2002, it made 400 movies and $45 million.

Nollywood resonates across Africa with its stories of a precolonial past and of a present caught between village life and urban modernity. The movies explore the tensions between the individual and extended families, between the draw of urban life and the pull of the village, between Christianity and traditional beliefs. For countless people, in a place long shaped by outsiders, Nollywood is redefining the African experience.

“I doubt that a white person, a European or American, can appreciate Nollywood movies the way an African can,” said Katsuva Ngoloma, a linguist at the University of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo who has written about Nollywood’s significance. “But Africans — the rich, the poor, everyone — will see themselves in those movies in one way or another.”

In Yeoville, a neighborhood in Johannesburg that is a melting pot for migrants, a seamstress from Ghana took orders one recent morning for the latest fashions seen in Nollywood movies. Hairstylists from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, working in salons or on the street, offered hair weaves following the styles favored by Nollywood actresses.

“Nigerian movies express how we live as Africans, what we experience in our everyday lives, things like witchcraft, things like fighting between mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws,” said Patience Moyo, 34, a Zimbabwean hair-braider. “When you watch the movies, you feel it is really happening. One way or another, it will touch your life somewhere.”

When I first reported on Nigeria’s film industry more than a decade ago, the movies were slapped together in such a makeshift fashion that, during one interview, a production manager offered me the part of an evil white man. (Never mind my Japanese roots, he assured me, I was close enough.) After I casually threw out the term “Nollywood” in a conversation with a colleague, a copy editor created this headline for my article: “Step Aside, L.A. and Bombay, for Nollywood.”

The name stuck — and spread. But success hasn’t robbed Nollywood of its freewheeling ways: During my recent visit to a Nigerian village where a half-dozen movies were being shot, a producer came over and, on the spot, offered me the role of an evil white man who brings a vampire to Nigeria.

Back in 2002, the movies were simply known as Nigeria’s home videos. They were popularized at first through video cassettes traded across Africa, but now Nollywood is available on satellite and cable television channels, as well as on streaming services like iRokoTV. In 2012, in response to swelling popularity in Francophone Africa, a satellite channel called Nollywood TV began offering round-the-clock movies dubbed into French. Most Nollywood movies are in English, though some are in one of Nigeria’s main ethnic languages.

Until Nollywood’s ascendance, movies made in Francophone Africa — with grants from the French government — dominated filmmaking on the continent. But these movies catered to the sensibilities of Western critics and viewers, and won few fans in Africa, leaving no cultural footprint.

In Nollywood, though, movies are still financed by private investors expecting a profit.

“You want to do a movie? You have the script? You look immediately for the money and you shoot,” said Mahmood Ali-Balogun, a leading Nigerian filmmaker. “When you get a grant from France or the E.U., they can dictate to you where to put your camera, the fine-tuning of your script. It’s not a good model for us in Africa.”

Mr. Ali-Balogun was speaking from his office in Surulere, Lagos, the birthplace of Nollywood. Film production has since moved to other cities, especially Asaba, an otherwise sleepy state capital in southeastern Nigeria. On any given day, a dozen crews can be found here — “epic” films with ancient story lines like “Beyond the Dance” are in the works in nearby villages, while “glamour” movies about modern life make the city itself their sets.

One recent entry in the glamour category was “Okada 50,” the story of a woman and son who, after leaving their village, open a coffin business in the city and terrorize their neighbors.

Most films have budgets of about $25,000 and are shot in a week.

Once completed in Asaba, the movies find their way to every corner of Africa, released in the original English, dubbed into French or African languages, and sometimes readapted, repackaged and often pirated for local audiences. Many movies are also propelled by a symbiotic relationship with Nigeria’s Pentecostal Christianity, which pastors have exported throughout Africa.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, pastors who visited Nigeria years ago returned with videocassettes and showed the films in church to teach Christian lessons and attract new members, said Katrien Pype, a Belgian anthropologist at the University of Leuven who has written about the phenomenon.

Today in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, Nollywood permeates mainstream culture. Local women copy the fashion, makeup and hairstyles of the actresses; local musicians grumble at the popularity of Nigerian imports, like Don Jazzy and the P-Square twins .

Trésor Baka, a Congolese dubber who translates Nollywood movies into the local language, Lingala, said the films are popular because “Nigeria has succeeded in reconciling modernity and their ancient ways, their culture and traditions.”

Nollywood has also created a model for movie production in other African nations, said Matthias Krings, a German expert on African popular culture at Johannes Gutenberg University.

In Kitwe, Zambia, local filmmakers were recently making their latest movie in true Nollywood style: a family melodrama shot over 10 days, in a private home, on a $7,000 budget. Burned onto DVD, the movie will be sold in Zambia and neighboring countries.

Acknowledging the influence of Nigerian cinema, the movie’s producer, Morgan Mbulo, 36, said, “We can tell our own stories now".
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/19/world/africa/with-a-boom-before-the-cameras-nigeria-redefines-african-life.html?_r=0

hehehe

Drienzia:
Call it rubbish without pointing the flaws? lol, then I'm right...

You had to come with the typically ignorant tribal nonsense.

[quote author=anonymous6 post=55720499]ASABA, Nigeria — Sitting on a blue plastic stool in the sweltering heat, Ugezu J. Ugezu, one of Nigeria’s top filmmakers, was furiously rewriting his script as the cameras prepared to roll. “Cut!” he shouted after wrapping up a key scene, a confrontation between the two leading characters. Then, under his breath, he added, “Good as it gets.”

This was the seventh — and last — day of shooting in a village near here for “Beyond the Dance,” Mr. Ugezu’s story of an African prince’s choice of a bride, and the production had been conducted at a breakneck pace.

“In Nollywood, you don’t waste time,” he said. “It’s not the technical depth that has made our films so popular. It’s because of the story. We tell African stories.”

The stories told by Nigeria’s booming film industry, known as Nollywood, have emerged as a cultural phenomenon across Africa, the vanguard of the country’s growing influence across the continent in music, comedy, fashion and even religion.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, overtook its rival, South Africa, as the continent’s largest economy two years ago, thanks in part to the film industry’s explosive growth. Nollywood — a term I helped coin with a 2002 article when Nigeria’s movies were just starting to gain popularity outside the country — is an expression of boundless Nigerian entrepreneurialism and the nation’s self-perception as the natural leader of Africa, the one destined to speak on the continent’s behalf.

“The Nigerian movies are very, very popular in Tanzania, and, culturally, they’ve affected a lot of people,” said Songa wa Songa, a Tanzanian journalist. “A lot of people now speak with a Nigerian accent here very well thanks to Nollywood. Nigerians have succeeded through Nollywood to export who they are, their culture, their lifestyle, everything.”

Nollywood generates about 2,500 movies a year, making it the second-biggest producer after Bollywood in India, and its films have displaced American, Indian and Chinese ones on the televisions that are ubiquitous in bars, hair salons, airport lounges and homes across Africa.

The industry employs a million people — second only to farming — in Nigeria, pumping $600 million annually into the national economy, according to a 2014 report by the United States International Trade Commission. In 2002, it made 400 movies and $45 million.

Nollywood resonates across Africa with its stories of a precolonial past and of a present caught between village life and urban modernity. The movies explore the tensions between the individual and extended families, between the draw of urban life and the pull of the village, between Christianity and traditional beliefs. For countless people, in a place long shaped by outsiders, Nollywood is redefining the African experience.

“I doubt that a white person, a European or American, can appreciate Nollywood movies the way an African can,” said Katsuva Ngoloma, a linguist at the University of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo who has written about Nollywood’s significance. “But Africans — the rich, the poor, everyone — will see themselves in those movies in one way or another.”

In Yeoville, a neighborhood in Johannesburg that is a melting pot for migrants, a seamstress from Ghana took orders one recent morning for the latest fashions seen in Nollywood movies. Hairstylists from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, working in salons or on the street, offered hair weaves following the styles favored by Nollywood actresses.

“Nigerian movies express how we live as Africans, what we experience in our everyday lives, things like witchcraft, things like fighting between mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws,” said Patience Moyo, 34, a Zimbabwean hair-braider. “When you watch the movies, you feel it is really happening. One way or another, it will touch your life somewhere.”

When I first reported on Nigeria’s film industry more than a decade ago, the movies were slapped together in such a makeshift fashion that, during one interview, a production manager offered me the part of an evil white man. (Never mind my Japanese roots, he assured me, I was close enough.) After I casually threw out the term “Nollywood” in a conversation with a colleague, a copy editor created this headline for my article: “Step Aside, L.A. and Bombay, for Nollywood.”

The name stuck — and spread. But success hasn’t robbed Nollywood of its freewheeling ways: During my recent visit to a Nigerian village where a half-dozen movies were being shot, a producer came over and, on the spot, offered me the role of an evil white man who brings a vampire to Nigeria.

[color=#006600][b]Back in 2002, the movies were simply known as Nigeria’s home videos. They were popularized at first through video cassettes traded across Africa, but now Nollywood is available on satellite and cable television channels, as well as on streaming services like iRokoTV. In 2012, in response to swelling popularity in Francophone Africa, a

mmsen:


You had to come with the typically ignorant tribal nonsense.

bro there's no tribalism here. I'm not even an Igbo man. deep down in u, u know the Igbo led nollywood is d best we have in Nigeria. All am saying is, other part of the country should learn from them

Drienzia:
Nollywood has really developed over the years..I just hope some persons can just improve the kind of movies we produce in yorubawood and kanuri. Joke apart we know the Igbo nollywood is the best we have in Nigeria, and the most recognised outside Nigeria. Am not saying Yorubas aint doing well, dont misquote me, i think they should start producing quality Movies, They should go to Asaba and see things for themselves. Nollywood has really developed.

What are you saying? You mean igbo nollywood that was recently launched on africa magic? You mean igbo movies filled with silly comedies and witchcraft? Funny, I would partially agree with you if you say the English nollywood movies. After the English movies which has majority of Igbo actors, next is Yoruba nollywood.. igbo speaking movies haven't come close. 95% of it is about village life, charms and witchcraft. Go see modern settings, houses, cars, name it. Unrealistic stories, magic and impossibilities makes Yoruba movies lagging

neoOduduwa:
You mean those ruining it with piracy? This is a collective feat as Nollywood doesn't refer to a particular region in Nigeria, you Igbo nairalanders are so insecure. Jeez, why do you always try to take credit for everything?

Shiii!!! Iweka and Electromat bankroll over 60% of nollywood budgets

Iweka road Onitsha is birthplace of that industry

akinsmyk:


What are you saying? You mean igbo nollywood that was recently launched on africa magic? You mean igbo movies filled with silly comedies and witchcraft? Funny, I would partially agree with you if you say the English nollywood movies. After the English movies which has majority of Igbo actors, next is Yoruba nollywood.. igbo speaking movies haven't come close. 95% of it is about village life, charms and witchcraft. Go see modern settings, houses, cars, name it. Unrealistic stories, magic and impossibilities makes Yoruba movies lagging

Lies, igbo spoken movies are far more advanced than even the English spoken ones.
All you said of Igbo movies are wrong.
Yoruba ones are thrash

neoOduduwa:
You mean those ruining it with piracy? This is a collective feat as Nollywood doesn't refer to a particular region in Nigeria, you Igbo nairalanders are so insecure. Jeez, why do you always try to take credit for everything?

It does not refer to à particular region ,yes,but we know the region that dominates n that is responsible for its huge success .
Nolly wood is actually à carry over of the former igbo movies.

Drienzia:
bro there's no tribalism here. I'm not even an Igbo man. deep down in u, u know the Igbo led nollywood is d best we have in Nigeria. All am saying is, other part of the country should learn from them

It was clearly tribalism.

You didn't name directors, you didn't even name particular films - you made a lazy, broad sweeping statement based on ethno-linguistic affiliation.

chuksjuve:
Shameful we celebrate mediocrity..

Nollywood is about fake accent, noise, shouts, scream, vulgarity in words, confused scripts acted by bleaching young men and ladies within a one week duration.

Where this fool bos out from? Oloriburuku

chuksjuve:
Shameful we celebrate mediocrity..

Nollywood is about fake accent, noise, shouts, scream, vulgarity in words, confused scripts acted by bleaching young men and ladies within a one week duration.

Where this fool bos out from? Oloriburuku

neoOduduwa:
You mean those ruining it with piracy? This is a collective feat as Nollywood doesn't refer to a particular region in Nigeria, you Igbo nairalanders are so insecure. Jeez, why do you always try to take credit for everything?

Give credit to whom credit is due. Igbo actors and actresses are the true foundation of Nollywood. If there are 10 A-list actors and actresses, 7 are Igbos. Most of the marketers, producers, directors etc are Igbos.
What else do you need to convince you that they literally own Nollywood?
Chill bro. Na one of the reasons why una still like to dey do attache by force with us.

Igbos the jews of Africa.techno hub of blacks

One week for a full movie? I used to think it was upto to 2 weeks.

Makes no difference anyway

A very interesting piece. Kudos to those people that made it possible

mmsen:


It was clearly tribalism.

You didn't name directors, you didn't even name particular films - you made a lazy, broad sweeping statement based on ethno-linguistic affiliation.

Whether it was tribalism or something else, Igbos own Nollywood.
If the Yorubas or Hausas can do better, they should act their own English movies and market them.

Lemmy123:
Where this fool bos out from? Oloriburuku Where this fool bos out from? Oloriburuku

how can I be of help to you?

anonymous6:
[color=#006600][b]

Nollywood generates about 2,500 movies a year, making it the second-biggest producer after Bollywood in India.

[Most films have budgets of about $25,000 .

Are 'Hollywood' and 'Bollywood' home movies included in the count? ...and the average movie costs $25K.... then how much are these Range Rover mansion buying stars paid? Nollywood peaked like 10 years ago....now 99% rubbish actors... rubbish stories...rubbish movies.

akinsmyk:


What are you saying? You mean igbo nollywood that was recently launched on africa magic? You mean igbo movies filled with silly comedies and witchcraft? Funny, I would partially agree with you if you say the English nollywood movies. After the English movies which has majority of Igbo actors, next is Yoruba nollywood.. igbo speaking movies haven't come close. 95% of it is about village life, charms and witchcraft. Go see modern settings, houses, cars, name it. Unrealistic stories, magic and impossibilities makes Yoruba movies lagging

The words in bold letters describes Yoruba movies. Sometimes when I watch it on TVC or Galaxy TV, I wonder if Yorubas ever do anything without charm.
Someone wants to do marriage ceremony, he gets a charm. Another person wants to give birth, she acquires a charm. If they want to travel, same thing. And they always make theirI viewers believe that once you make money, you're into money ritual.
The only cool thing about your movies is the stint of comedy relief in it.
Aside from that, it's no different from the awkward movies made by the francophone countries in Africa.

akinsmyk:


What are you saying? You mean igbo nollywood that was recently launched on africa magic? You mean igbo movies filled with silly comedies and witchcraft? Funny, I would partially agree with you if you say the English nollywood movies. After the English movies which has majority of Igbo actors, next is Yoruba nollywood.. igbo speaking movies haven't come close. 95% of it is about village life, charms and witchcraft. Go see modern settings, houses, cars, name it. Unrealistic stories, magic and impossibilities makes Yoruba movies lagging

Oh, then I'm wrong. was referring to the English movies as an Igbo stuff, because most actors there er igbos. they also reflects the Igbo culture in the movies, esp those movies related to kings and queens. The names also er Igbo names, hence the reason I tagged it, Igbo nollywood

while I am not a fan of nollywood, I have met numerous people from other african nations and they all joke about the likes of Pete Edochie, Aki and Pawpaw, Nkem owoh, patience ozokwor, liz benson, Genevieve Nnaji etc No one however knows Kunle Afolayan, Jenifa and the rest of the local pips.

leksmedia:
The only thing lacking in our movie industry now is the adoption of technology and also creating movies for also the international audience outside Africa , something lik the wedding party kind of movie , wedding party is almost the only Nigerian movie that I have seen that I enjoyed from the beginning till the end.
For your website design, blog design, Ecommerce websites visit www.leksmediaconcept.com or call 08173091370

Like Seriously, Nollywood has really changed its now called the "New Nollywood". The Wedding Party is cool and is not the only wonderful Nollywood movie in that class. As it stands now, their are many nollywood movies even better than the wedding party the only thing here is that you can't see any of them just anywhere like we see all those "old nollywood" movies. If not for the fact that "The wedding party" licked somehow, many people wouldn't have seen the great improvements in the "New Nollywood". Had it been the movie "The wedding party" didn't lick and was only seen in cinemas just like other box office movies only a very few will know what has really changed in nollywood.
The best nollywood movies this recent years are mainly shown in cinemas nationwide and also in international firm festivals like TIFF (Toronto International Firm Festival), etc.
So, please, let's support our own. I know Nollywood really misses GEJ.
Like Seriously! Nollywood has changed big time especially with the advent of actors/firm/firmmakers award platform like the AMVCA's. Everybody (actor, firm makers, etc) wanna do their best just to grab an AMVCA2017.
Ups to The New Nollywood!

What is Buhari doing to help Nollywood

I thought the author knows so much about Nollywood? How come he couldn't say anything about the recent developments in Nollywood? Mtcheew!

leksmedia:
The only thing lacking in our movie industry now is the adoption of technology and also creating movies for also the international audience outside Africa , something lik the wedding party kind of movie , wedding party is almost the only Nigerian movie that I have seen that I enjoyed from the beginning till the end.
For your website design, blog design, Ecommerce websites visit www.leksmediaconcept.com or call 08173091370

You mean those western imitation movies. Western accent. That's not even a true African wedding. Its a western style wedding. Those are not true AFRICAN MOVIES OR STORIES.

African movies should portray African culture and lifestyle, African history and beliefs. Stop trying to act HOLLYWOOD movies in AFRICA. Make movies that even our grandmother's can watch and be able to relate to

We can do the same thing in education, cause education is where we need such revolution most. In order to be truly independent we must do the same thing in education.

A producer said “We can tell our own stories now". In same way we can learn on our own terms, create our own frame of reference, use our own language, create our own terminologies. In fact, create a different type of education based on African philosophy.

caracas:

It does not refer to à particular region ,yes,but we know the region that dominates n that is responsible for its huge success .
Nolly wood is actually à carry over of the former igbo movies.

Of course, you run "Nolly wood" while others run the true "Nollywood". Check out the list of the highest-grossing Nigerians movies and see who dominates. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_Nigerian_films

steppin:

Give credit to whom credit is due. Igbo actors and actresses are the true foundation of Nollywood. If there are 10 A-list actors and actresses, 7 are Igbos. Most of the marketers, producers, directors etc are Igbos.
What else do you need to convince you that they literally own Nollywood?
Chill bro. Na one of the reasons why una still like to dey do attache by force with us.

Attache indeed. We're not the ones flocking into Yorùbá states in large numbers. We don't need to beat our chest on every thread because we know our worth and don't need to prove sh¡t to no one. We've proven ourselves in Nigeria and beyond. Here's an official list of the highest-grossing Nigerian movies. Peace https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_Nigerian_films