The cinema of Nigeria grew
quickly in the 1990s and 2000s to become the second largest film industry in the
world in terms of number of annual film productions, placing it ahead of the United States and behind the Indian film
industry.
According to Hala Gorani and Jeff Koinange formerly of CNN, Nigeria has a US$250 million movie industry, churning out some 200 videos for the home video market every month.
Nigerian cinema is Africa's largest movie industry in terms of both value and
the number of movies produced per year.
Although Nigerian films have been
produced since the 1960s, the rise of affordable digital filming and editing technologies has
stimulated the country's video film industry. The Nigerian video feature film
industry is sometimes colloquially known as Nollywood, having been
derived as a play on Hollywood in
the same manner as Bollywood
Despite the persistent challenges of social, economic factors such
as crime and chronic corruption in Nigeria, it has so far done a good job in
trying to keep the continent entertained, in what may have ended up as an African
society without fun, and excitement. Entertainment may be a minor but vital
source of economic livelihood for thousands of Africa’s citizens as it is on a grand take off, gradually
beating off current rivalry from attractive “professional jobs”.
Few years ago, ten out of twelve African graduates settled for
“white collar” jobs but that has changed. With time, Africa’s young and
creative heads are shifting away from what used to be the conventional order,
and challenging themselves with initiatives that had little or no appreciation
a decade ago.
“Nigerians know how to throw a good party,” is the usual line
you get from some of its people when you attempt a debate on who among Africa’s
54-state, is a grand “party maker”. With time, this assertion has become an
established self-belief most hold on to – quite proudly – even though a tiny
minority doesn’t want to be tagged, or come across as profligate.
In a quick yet steady growth to the top, Nigeria’s entertainment
industry has grown into a modern day screamer. The successes chalked over the
years are as assuring as the quantum of revenue raked in by its subjects
yearly.
Filmmaking, one of the country’s strategic units of economic growth continue to take an upward fine-tuning – putting food on the table of millions of households.
Filmmaking, one of the country’s strategic units of economic growth continue to take an upward fine-tuning – putting food on the table of millions of households.
Not only has Nigeria’s entertainment industry fed its own
people; across Africa, their homemade movies, is a major source of employment
to hundreds of entrepreneurs. Thanks to an early positioning, it has grown to
become a force that cannot be done away with. Today, the Nigerian film
industry, widely known as “Nollywood”, is the second largest in the world by
volume.
Genevieve Nnaji, one of the early day saints who got this whole
craze off to a start, is about the industry’s most respected and appreciated
female act. Across Africa and even in more rooted and hard-to-break-through
territories like the United States of America and Europe, the level of
appreciation that greets her, is refreshingly awesome.
Nnaji, who at an early stage in her acting career defined what
would later go on to be accepted as polished drama, took the industry by storm
about two decades ago, when nobody really paid attention.
Gradually taking up roles in low and virtually non-existent
budget movies, it was just a matter of time that she would explode into the big
material that she is made of today. Role after the other, she proved her worth
and managed to catch the eye of some notable producers who gave her subsequent
roles in Unbreakable, Dangerous Sister, Not Man Enough, and Church Business
among other titles.
Still a local idol after few scripts, it was the 2002 movie
“Sharon Stone”, which got her a wider appeal – making her an instant hit in
countries like Ghana, Cameroon, Liberia, and Kenya among other African
countries. The widespread recognition came at a time when Nollywood had made a
successful crossover into unfamiliar territories and was getting a lot of
positive reviews.
Nnaji, a mother of one, also acted and excelled in The Mirror
Boy; a film that tells the “uplifting story of a young teenage African British
boy who is taken back to the land of his mother’s birth, but then gets
mysteriously lost in a foreboding forest; and embarks on a magical journey that
teaches him about himself and the mystery of the father he has never seen”.
Shot in The Gambia and England, the well-packaged fantasy
adventure drama, written and directed by Obi Emelonye, received three
nominations at last year’s African Movie Academy Awards.
It is fair to credit Nnaji for taking Nollywood to greater
heights but part of that praise should also go to the industry for creating the
platform for young and talented people, to nurture their talents, but does the
Nigerian film industry hold a lot of promise such that the likes of Nnaji can
continue to have a cushion they can always lean on for growth and skills
enhancement?
Compiled and edited from: Obed Boafo
Credit: http://african.howzit.msn.com/genevieve-nnaji-africa%e2%80%99s-screen-idol
and : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Nigeria
