TVC E, MOVIES – Since the advent of the first feature film in the early 1800’s movies have become an essential tool for communication, carrying messages of peace, war, hope, adventure, and culture entertaining trillions of people across the world.
Hollywood currently spearheads the film cycle across the world creating billions of jobs and providing dramatic excitement in the homes of billions of viewers.
Africa is not left out of the game with the most populous nation, Nigeria having a giant share of the film market on the continent.
The history of Nigeria’s motion picture industry popularly called Nollywood dates back to the 1970’s , during the oil boom which contributed immensely to the cinema culture in Nigeria.
Late Hubert Ogunde
Theatre practioners like Hubert Ogunde and Moses Olaiya took their travelling theatre to the big screen. This golden era however passed in a flash to return in the 90’s with the release of direct to video film .
Nollywood’s first in the era ‘Living in Bondage’ changed the game creating a base for Nigeria to become the second largest film industry in terms of quantity of annual films produced, although many have challenged the fact that Living in Bondage started the Nollywood revolution its emergence as the first Nigerian blockbuster, actually did create an industry that currently employs many.
Over the years Nigerian movie producers have told stories projecting the people’s culture, lifestyle, issues, problems, and religious sentiments, most of them made for the viewing pleasure of Nigerians at home and in diaspora and in recent times for that of the international community.
For the producers the cost of producing films remains financially back breaking, still with little or no government support they forge ahead .
Unlike Hollywood where movies are shot in the studio, most Nollywood movies are shot on location and the lack of government support makes the process a little too tedious
Nollywood films have in recent times graduated to the cinemas with more cinematographers moving from their shoe string budgets of about 10,000 to 15,000 dollars to big bucks running into millions of dollars in order to shoot pictures that appeal to cinema standards, this new era resonates well with cinema owners
More Nigerian films now feature international movie stars this they do in order to enhance the international acceptance of Nollywood movies ,the industry however faces a great challenge that has run most filmmakers out of business
Despite the challenges of piracy ,filmmakers in Nigeria are hopeful that one day there would be enabling laws protecting their practise in order for them to reap the gains of their labour.
As Nollywood films continue to grow in popularity, stakeholders in the industry are looking forward to the day when they can compete with Hollywood not just in quantity of movies produced but also in quality of films churned out.
By TVC News’ Entertainment Correspondent Joke Lijadu.
