Nigerian film

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Nigerian film crew (2017)

The Nigerian film often arises in Lagos and the surrounding area, as there is also an important part of the Nigerian film industry is based. Films have been made in Nigeria since the 1970s , but on a larger scale only since the 1990s . Based on Hollywood , the Nigerian film is also marketed under the name Nollywood . Living in Bondage from 1992 is considered to be one of the first pioneers of the Nollywood boom . Another center of Nigerian film has developed in Kano , which primarily produces Islamic productions and is also called Kannywood . It is estimated that around 400 to 2000 films are produced in Nigeria each year; according to data from the UNESCO Statistics Institute , there were 987 films in 2009. Nigeria is now the second largest film nation in the world after India and ahead of the USA . Nigerian filmmakers have been coming to the Berlinale since 2004 .

Marketing and performance

Nowadays, Nollywood films are mostly shot with simple DV camcorders in just a few days and get by on an average budget of around 10,000 US dollars including salaries and fees. It is produced primarily for the domestic market and for large parts of West Africa and beyond (e.g. South Africa). The average Nollywood film sells around 50,000 copies. In 2009, approximately 75% of Nigerian films were produced in local languages ​​such as Yoruba (54.7%), Hausa (16%), Bini (4.2%) and Igbo (0.4%). Outside of Africa, Nigerian cinema is particularly popular among the African diaspora. On a small scale, the films make it to some film festivals, which, however, still mainly present Francophone African cinema. In 2018, Lionheart was the first Nigerian film to be purchased by Netflix .

In the meantime, however, Nigerian film has firmly established itself in a formative way for African cinema and the concept of cheap video productions is now spreading to other African countries, such as Ghana . The films usually reach an audience of millions in their own country and beyond through video clubs, direct sales (but also to a considerable extent through black copies ) and African television. The later success or the level of awareness of a film depends primarily on the cast and the associated star cult . As many well-known Nigerian film stars as possible are placed on the video covers in order to create a clear appeal. One often finds sequels in Nigerian film that are produced at the same time as the actual film. This lowers film and personnel costs, and the audience can be made aware of the sequel directly in the end credits of the film.

The Nigerian film reached its climax in the marketing in cooperation with the AUC in the Netherlands, which treated the demand for exotic cultural goods from Africa as a focus. During this time there were many performances that contributed significantly to the spread.

Movie style and content

With the establishment, the Nollywood cinema became increasingly diverse. While for a long time genre mixtures of drama , tragedy , romance and some action were produced almost exclusively , other positions are increasingly being found. Religion, love, superstition, betrayal, fraud, intrigue, prostitution, murder and cannibalism remain popular topics. But political issues such as corruption and post-colonial conflicts as well as Nigerian politics are increasingly being dealt with, for example in the works of filmmaker Mildred Okwo. In addition, always also exceptional figures like the filmmakers found themselves in addition to popular films Tunde Kelani, who for several years produced films more with the author's film have in common than with the genre films.

Film stars in Nigeria

  • Women directors

literature

  • Jonathan Haynes: African Cinema and Nollywood . In: Lukas Foerster, Nikolaus Perneczky, Fabian Tietke, Cecilia Valenti (eds.): Traces of a Third Cinema. On the aesthetics, politics and economy of world cinema . Transcript, Bielefeld 2013, pp. 89-105.
  • Pieter Hugo : Nollywood with contributions by Chris Abani, Zina Saro-Wiwa, Stacy Hardy. Prestel Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-7913-4312-9 (English)
  • Nikolaus Perneczky: The re-enchantment of the world. To Tunde Kelani's village films . In: Lukas Foerster, Nikolaus Perneczky, Fabian Tietke, Cecilia Valenti (eds.): Traces of a Third Cinema. On the aesthetics, politics and economy of world cinema . Transcript, Bielefeld 2013, pp. 107–126 (see also the conversation with the filmmaker Tunde Kelani in the same volume on pages 127–133).
  • The Nollywood Gladiator . In: Berliner Zeitung , July 19, 2008; Interview: Sabine Vogel
  • about approaches to the international marketing of Nollywood. In: taz , June 26, 2008
  • via Nollywood. In: Washington Post (English)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Short report on the first successful Nollywood film in 1992
  2. ↑ a b UNESCO Institute for Statistics , accessed on February 12, 2012
  3. ↑ The Gladiator of Nollywood . In: Berliner Zeitung , July 19, 2008; Interview with Don Pedro Agbonifo-Obaseki
  4. ^ Watch: Genevieve Nnaji Talks About Her New Movie "Lion Heart". Retrieved October 4, 2018 .
  5. ↑ 30 Days - NGR 2006, D: Mildred Okwo, D: Genevieve Nnaji, 150 '| DVD, OV for the film series Traces of a Third Cinema by The Canine Condition with a description of Okwo's debut film 30 Days . Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  6. ↑ Nikolaus Perneczky: The re-enchantment of the world. To Tunde Kelani's village films . In: Lukas Foerster, Nikolaus Perneczky, Fabian Tietke, Cecilia Valenti (eds.): Traces of a Third Cinema. On the aesthetics, politics and economy of world cinema . Transcript, Bielefeld 2013, pp. 107–126.