Search

In this article, I am concerned principally with Taxi Driver (Oriahi, 2015), Gbomo Gbomo Express (Taylaur, 2015), Just Not Married (Patrick, 2016), Ojukokoro (Greed) (Olaitan, 2016) as well as Catch.er (Taylaur, 2017). These films are characterized as much by the depiction of clever criminals as the cultivation of a cynical disposition from which transgressions of this sort appear stylish and violence is rendered 'cool'. Almost all of them turn on a scheme to dupe others of a large sum of money, and are punctuated by backstabbing partners in crime, tables turning by chance, edgy armed standoffs and a surprising number of bodies in car trunks. Given the dark portrait of Lagos these films present, one might be inclined to read the genre cycle as a reiteration of the role Lagos has historically played as embodiment of popular anxieties concerning insecurity, material inequality and social breakdown. And yet, in recent years, conditions within the city have markedly improved over those of the deepest point of urban crisis in the 1990s when Lagos was, indeed, paralysed by a generalized condition of insecurity and dysfunction. New Nollywood's repertoire of film styles has expanded to include international film cycles and genres such as romantic comedies, psychological thrillers, police procedurals, among others. This raises important questions about the nature of correspondences between cinema and the city, such as whether New Nollywood genre films tell us anything about social, cultural or historical circumstances in Lagos, or the place the city occupies in the popular imagination, for instance. Recent upmarket film noirs speak, instead, to the evolution of Lagos as a media capital. I examine the different kinds of work genre performs in New and Old Nollywood films and propose a number of ways to critically interpret genre's various registers.

African video-films, like performances generally capture the complexity of people’s everydayness. Apart from challenging formerly held stereotypes about the continent, they reveal the identity of Africa by underpinning key circumstantial experiences of her people. The thrust of this paper is to explain this everyday experiences in the context of a new wave of video-filmmaking culture and representations across the continent, starting with Nigeria and Ghana. By means of textual analysis as a methodological approach, it critically examines two video-films: Uziga (2008, Andy Nwakalor) from Nigeria and Enemy Within (2013, Pascal Amanfo) from Ghana to conceptualise the nature of this situation across the continent. At the end, it recommends that the present model of new cinemas across Africa be considered an alternative audio-visual prism (as against mainstream western stereotypes) for home grown truths that Africans can easily identify with.

The Nollywood scholar Jonathan Haynes has suggested that a useful task for Nollywood scholars would be to develop categories of genre classification. This paper attempts a genre classification of t...

Moving pictures have a long history in Tanzania. The first cinema shows appeared in the region at the turn of the 20th century. Indian entrepreneurs established tent shows before World War I and built permanent cinemas in the interwar period. Colonial officials feared cinema images would undermine their authority and attempted to censor films and segregate audiences. During and immediately following World War II Tanganyika and Zanzibar experienced a boom in cinema building as the popularity of going to the movies soared among urban Africans. Tanzanian audiences developed cosmopolitan tastes, embracing Bollywood actors, Elvis Presley, and Bruce Lee alike. After independence the new Tanzanian government adopted policies that ultimately encouraged the decline of cinema-going as a public leisure activity. Films have been made in Tanganyika and Zanzibar since the first decade of the 20th century. Under German rule, visitors to Tanganyika made ethnographic and wildlife films. After World War I the new British administration in Tanganyika continued to allow commercial and documentary filmmakers to operate in the territory. In the 1930s the British government considered several initiatives to make educational films for African audiences. During World War II the Colonial Office created a film unit to produce and disseminate educational and propaganda films throughout Africa, including in both Tanganyika and Zanzibar. This work continued up until Tanganyika became independent in 1961. After independence the government of the new nation of Tanzania continued producing didactic movies for its citizens. They also made a handful of feature films for commercial distribution. In the 1990s a new video industry emerged in Dar es Salaam, in part inspired by the importation of inexpensive video films from Nigeria. Dubbed “Bongowood,” this new industry has been extremely prolific, producing hundreds of low-budget videos annually. These Swahili-language videos are consumed avidly within the country, as well as in Swahili-speaking areas of neighboring nations, and throughout the Swahili diaspora.

The Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) was founded in 1969. It began as an intimate week-long gathering of filmmakers and enthusiasts in the capital of what is now Burkina Faso to watch contemporary films made by African filmmakers. At its peak in the 1990s, it attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators, both local and international. Since the 2000s, iterations have been smaller affairs, significantly impacted by both changes of government in Burkina Faso and wider political instability in West Africa, as well as ongoing debates about what films it should be showcasing. Despite such challenges (and with only one exception in the mid-1970s), however, FESPACO has remained a constant on the African continent, faithfully screening films by African and diaspora filmmakers every two years for more than half a century. FESPACO was conceived in the age of decolonization by a group of men and women who are considered to be the pioneers of African cinema, including the Senegalese writer and filmmaker Ousmane Sembène. It was established as the first sub-Saharan showcase of African filmmaking, an emergent and significant field in the era of independence when cinema was prized for its ability to make visible African realities and to (re)constitute national histories eclipsed by colonial rule. The concept of a distinctly “African” cinema was articulated most extensively by filmmaker and scholar Paulin Soumanou Vieyra and referred to films made by Africans, telling African stories, principally for African audiences. For Vieyra, Sembène, and their contemporaries, it was essential to take back control of the art of cinema on the African continent, where it had predominantly been deployed as a colonial tool; FESPACO was conceived as the regular forum for those committed to its development to come together and share their work. Through the course of its development, FESPACO has been confronted with a number of challenges regarding its form and its evolution. Its strong connections with the Burkinabe state have been seen as both a significant factor for its growth and its success, and, particularly in the era of Blaise Compaoré, as a source for concern regarding freedom of expression. Since the turn of the 21st century, questions about where video filmmaking—an industry that has proliferated on the African continent in a manner unprecedented internationally—fits within FESPACO’s definition of cinema have been consistent. The festival has, over the years, been accused of being both outdated and elitist in its commitment to celluloid, but also of straying from its original remit to showcase African stories for African audiences, accusations it has responded to by the creation of new prize categories and requirements for submission. The year 2019 was one of reflection, but many critics felt that after some difficult years the festival was showing signs of rejuvenation. Though it is now one of many film festivals on the continent committed to showcasing African cinema, there remains significant appreciation for the historic status of FESPACO as a preeminent sub-Saharan cultural institution.

In the last three decades, Nigeria has witnessed the phenomenal, unprecedented efflorescence of cultural production activities. These have included the emergence and thriving of Nollywood, the video film culture, new musical expressions and stand-up comedy. Warri has long functioned as an indispensable ally in these cultural activities. An urban community in the Niger Delta, Warri is a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities: the Urhobo, Itsekiri and Ijaw. But it is also supremely strategic to the fortunes and prosperity of Nigeria. It is an oil-producing enclave which lubricates the veins and arteries of Nigeria’s mono-cultural economy. Like Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, Warri also constitutes a veritable epicentre and locus for cultural activities in Nigeria. Many of Nigeria’s most creative talents and cultural luminaries (writers, musicians and actors/actresses) have their roots in Warri. Warri can, safely, be said to be the aboriginal space for many of Nigeria’s cultural activities. I will engage Warri as the home of Nigerian stand-up comedy as many of its iconic practitioners are from there. I will conclude that Warri and its cultural warriors occupy a pre-eminent place and are an animating force in Nigeria’s cultural imaginary which is why Warri no dey carry last.

African cinema has to a great extent been a dependent cinema, and the frustrations of colonialism that led to Frantz Fanon’s incendiary words were truly present in this sector. According to Haynes, although Africa was integrated into the international circuits quite early, it “was integrated on the worst possible terms.” Nollywood came as the second phase of postcolonial filmmaking in Nigeria. The first phase, which began in the 1970s, was fraught with the same challenges as the rest of African cinema. By the late 1980s, thanks especially to the crash of the Nigerian economy, this phase of filmmaking more or less ground to a halt. Cubitt describes distribution as “the core process in which economic and political moments of human communication take centre stage.” The danger of such high numbers lies in the possibility of an oversaturation of the market. However, this danger was mitigated because the high number of sellers was matched by a high number of buyers.

This study examined the Role of Film in National Development: Problems and prospects using movie industries and movie viewers in Abuja as a case study. Survey research methodology was adopted while one hundred copies of the questionnaire were administered to the selected respondents within Movie Industries and movie viewers in Abuja metropolis. Findings have established that Nigeria film industries are promoting our cultural values, it builds youths talents. Also, poor funding of movie industries, inadequate production equipment, poor scripting, poor story research and the advent of ICT have been described as the major problems facing movie industries in Nigeria in achieving national development. Nigeria home movie industries can enhance national development through stories that focus on peaceful co-existence of Nigeria, if their stories are on corruption effects, if stories are on good governance and if the stories are in culture. It is recommended that the Nigerian Films Censors Commission should scrutinize films before they are sent out for viewing by the larger audience and script writers should always have at the back of their minds that Nigeria cultural heritage and national unity should be foremost on their minds when they are writing any script. This chapter also recommends the creation of more film festivals in order to encourage both amateurs and professionals in this field in order to showcase their productions; connect and network for partnership should be established. Funding initiatives to encourage both emerging and emerged veterans in this field is recommended so that more revenue can be generated for the nation and the productions from Nollywood can stand shoulder high with her counterparts from the rest of the world.

This work focuses on the challenges orchestrated by piracy in the Nigerian movie industry, taking into cognizance the mode of operation of the pirates, impacts on the movie industry, and while also exploring the advantages embedded in the adoption of technological measures and political restructuring in terms of devolution of governmental powers in combating piracy so as to build a stalwart indigenous movie industry geared towards international best practices and standards.

Over the years, the impact of Nollywood on the promotion and development of Nigerian culture has cut across geographical boundaries. In terms of film production quality, the industry has made significant progress, even though there remains great room for improvement. In recent times, output from the industry gained global recognition, with films such as Lion Heart, King of Boys and Chief Daddy, to mention a few, attaining great landmarks in the film world in 2019. A significant feature in the Nigerian film industry is the wealth of diversity which reflects the true Nigerian nation. The involvement of Igbo indigenes in the Nollywood industry has helped put the Nollywood ideology into the consciousness of Nigerians and the world. Therefore, this chapter examines the relevance of the Igbo traditional business model in sustaining the dominance of Igbos in the distribution network of films in the Nigerian film industry, also known as Nollywood.

Nollywood, the second largest movie industry in the world after America’s Hollywood, is Nigeria’s movie industry. This ongoing study investigates how sexual messages and scenes are communicated to viewers and if there is correlation between the pattern of Nollywood movies exposure and sexual behaviour of in-school adolescents in the southwestern part of Nigeria. Data will be collected from the participants through questionnaire while content of popular Nollywood movies among the participants will be content analyzed. It is expected that this study will provide information about the frequency of sexual scenes and how risky sexual behaviours are portrayed in Nollywood movies. Secondly, it is expected that this study will show the types of relationships that exist between movie exposure behaviour and sexual behaviour in the study population. Nollywood, la deuxième plus grosse industrie du cinéma au monde après Hollywood, est l'industrie du cinéma nigérien. Cet étude en cours examine comment les messages et les scènes à caractères sexuels sont communiquées aux téléspectateurs et s'il existe une corrélation entre le modèle d'exposition aux films Nollywoodiens et les comportements sexuels des adolescents scolarisés dans le sud-ouest du Nigéria. Les données seront collectés auprès des participants par le biais d'un questionnaire et le contenu des films Nollywoodiens populaires auprès des participants sera anlysé. Cette étude devrait fournir des information sur la fréquence des scènes sexuelles et sur la manière dont les comportements sexuels à risque sont décrits dans les films de Nollywood. Il est aussi attendu que cette étude montre les types de relations qui existent entre le comportement d'exposition au cinéma et le comportement sexuel dans la population étudiée.

It is taken for granted that Igbo cultural motifs are pivotal to the formation of Nollywood costumes. The researcher thus finds the examination of the evolution of Nollywood costumes an important subject that requires urgent attention. The aim of this examination is to assert the dominance of Igbo cultural motifs in Nollywood costumes. Qualitative research method was adopted for the research. Using ethnographic research approach, the researcher had sought the opinions of experts in traditional Igbo aesthetics and symbols. The study finds semiotic theory appropriate model for the costume analysis. Findings from this research reveal that Igbo dress culture was pivotal to the development of Nollywood costumes and has continued to play significant roles in costuming Nollywood characters. This research recommends that Nollywood costume designers should focus more on the communicative essence of costumes and their effectiveness in preserving culture. Costume designers should also be given ample time and budget to carry out an ethnographic research in order to employ motifs appropriately. The case studies used for the research were Ijele, My Rising Sun, Living in bondage and The Priestess. Keywords: Igbo cultural motifs, Costumes, Nollywood, Dominance, Dress culture, Prototype

The feminine image, as a gendered discourse, requires attention to ethical and gender details so that its textual representations do not promote biases and discriminations but rather counter them. While previous studies have investigated the gendering of the feminine figure in secular Nollywood, few have extended similar investigations to Nigerian Christian/evangelical films. This article attends to this gap with the feminist stylistic/textual analysis of Tumini’s Song (2005) and Never Happened (2008). Chronicling the lives of girls who defy a childhood characterised by abuse and social oppression and grow into womanhood defined by personal fulfilment and the erasure of the past because of their Christian faith, it is implied that the two films advocate sociocultural conditions in which vulnerable females have a right to life and self-fulfilment. However, because the films are sermon films that intend to teach the doctrines of forgiveness and divine retribution, they neither formulate appropriate responses to the breaches of women’s rights nor counter women’s constant vulnerability. Consequently, the films perpetuate female powerlessness and male superiority rather than countering these dynamics. This article concludes that Christian films may need to pay attention to ethical and gender issues alongside their intent to proselytise.

This paper deconstructs the typical mise en scene of neo-Nollywood films. Herein, “neoNollywood” as coined by Nigerian filmmaker, Charles Novia (2012: 124), will be the descriptor for the cinema sphere of the mainstream Nigerian film industry, Nollywood. It will argue that there is a considerable level of illiteracy about cinematic language in neoNollywood productions, and that this troubles its capacity to “tell its stories” to the world articulately. It will submit that this inability stems from a predisposition that seeks to tell a story – being overly reliant on dialogue - rather than to show the story through its mise en scene of audio–visual metaphors, which is the definition of cinema. The conversation will be with core attention to three films: 30 Days in Atlanta (2014), Chief Daddy (2018) and my most recent screenplay, Mugabe (forthcoming), directed by Robert Peters. Each film will be analysed via textual analysis with reference to the theories of dramaturgy and mise en scene. Reflections on my practice as a screenwriter and director will also be invited to the conversation. This paper draws on findings of my doctoral research, which bridge the gap between the scholarship of neo-Nollywood film studies and that of its practice, with core attention to cinematic techniques. Until this research, this gap in Nollywood studies remained unaddressed.

It was early in the New Year, January 3, 2020, participants had convened in London to review the state of the Nollywood industry and the potentials of the enterprise. Could it be positioned in the UK as a commercially viable transnational cinema? The agenda was set to cover film production by Nigerians in the diaspora, and to identity challenges facing geographically displaced Nigerians in producing and distributing their movies. Participants were to consider and proffer solutions to challenges confronting Nigerian filmmakers, including structural hindrances in financing, (pre/post) production, distribution and exhibition of their productions. That the original idea was proposed by a Nollywood legend, Clarion Chukwura made it fascinating. The event, held at the University College London, was an occasion for dialogue between the professionals and academics.

Based on a critical visual analysis of the scopophilia, body fetishism, and commodity culture, I attempt to deconstruct representations of the huge derrières of two actresses in Ghallywood and Nollywood. The analysis pays attention to how cinematographic elements of composition, color, and lighting in selected films the two actresses have starred reinforce the myth of the butt as a signifier of economic and socio/cultural capital. The article raises concerns over whether the hyper-sexualization of West African films points to a transgressive rupture of the industry or a subversive culture of the African ethos of decency.