Tag: Nollywood

Since the inception of film production in Melbourne, Australia in 1906, the film industry has, over the years, experienced rapid growth, which has made it to become one of the biggest in the world today. The sector has enjoyed huge successes all over the world, boasting of several billions of dollars in the film market.

Another successful industry is the American film industry, which is referred to as Hollywood. It came into existence in 1913 with the production of Squaw man. About a century into the business of film production, the Hollywood has witnessed an upward swing in sales, viewership and number of movies produced. Same story can be told of other big names in the industry such as India, Japan, Hong Kong and France.

In recent times, however, the quality of films being produced has been a major source of concern for many viewers and stakeholders. While some think of quality in view of costs and technology associated with the production of a movie, others see it differently. The latter would rather see quality in terms of the content of the movie. Quality, no matter how you choose to define it, remains a major determinant of the success of any movie industry.

Recently, I took a look into the average cost associated with movie production and I was startled to discover that while an average Hollywood film would cost over $50 million, an average Nigerian movie only costs a paltry $20,000!

Unbelievable, isn’t it? Well, while some would blame the rather cheap cost of movies in Nigeria on favourable factors like cheap labour and location, it will also be right to say factors such as cheap equipment, the crudeness of the plays and, more importantly, the fact that most Nollywood movies are made via the straight to video production method are responsible for the low quality. It will also interest readers to know that analogue cameras are still being used in the Nigerian film industry.

Surprising is the alarming rate of chauvinism as depicted by the ever- growing Nigerian populace towards such movies; this is evident in the massive sales and support enjoyed by Nigerian film makers. While interacting with people, I found it rather interesting to discover that most admirers of these numerous Nollywood junks hinge their admiration on the so-called family orientation and cultural values they depict.

Isn’t it quite laughable that Nigerians are gullible? In as much as I appreciate our cultural values and heritage, it is no enough reason for me to throw my weight behind craps being churned out on daily basis by countless Nollywood producers. I think proponents of the whole “family affairs” stuff should check out one or two Mexican or Philippine movies and see how professionally movies can be done without sidelining one’s cultural values.

There is a popular cliché that says: “It is not how far but how well”. Indeed, I applaud the successes recorded so far by the Nigerian movie industry, most importantly her marketing prowess, which has seen the industry plunge into the global scene and become the second largest in the world in terms of the number of movies released annually and also the second largest employer of labour in Nigeria with a net worth believed to be around $3.25billion. However, it must be stated clearly that the industry still has a long way to go if it is to meet up with other advanced film industries across the world, at least outside Africa in terms of the quality of our films.

To achieve this, I think it is high time stakeholders in the industry sat to map out ways to improve the quality of our movies; this would set a paradigm shift from the archaic, crude and on-location production to a more sophisticated cinematic (in-studio) production. It is only when this is done that the criticism of the Nollywood critics would be unjustified.

Joseph, 300-Level Business Administration, UNIBEN