2011-09-26
Welcome to Nollywood!
Be honest; when most of you think of the African entertainment industry, you think of South Africa, maybe North Africa at a push. Sub-Saharan countries are probably way down the list, and yet most of the nations around the Gulf of Guinea don’t just have vibrant, traditional entertainments on offer, but have even embraced some of the glitz and glamour of the movies; Nollywood is the name given to the film industry in this part of the world, an obvious play on Hollywood, and a homage to the more famous Indian cinema industry, Bollywood.
Nollywood started out in Nigeria, which is why it starts with the letter “N” for Nigeria, rather than “C” for Cameroon or “G” for Gabon, though Collywood does have quite a cute ring to it! I could imagine a large format printing website coming up with some entertaining images for the latest Collywood blockbuster....
Most Nollywood films, which feature local actors and which are written, directed and produced by Africans too, deal with themes that will be common to most people living in West Africa, such as families, poverty, corruption and religion. A lot of religion. Whether the hero/heroine is a Christian or a Muslim - which depends on which part of the region, or even which part of Nigeria the film is made in – there is nearly always a moral aspect to the Nollywood stories that is missing from most Hollywood pictures, and is even disappearing from Bollywood in favour of bad boy action heroes and show-stopping dance numbers.
Nollywood has yet to have an impact on the movie-going public outside of West Africa, or ex-pat communities in Britain and the US, but it wasn’t so long ago that Bollywood was mocked by serious European film buffs – and now the latest Indian productions play alongside the latest blockbusters at UK cinemas. Perhaps we’ll see Nollywood making a similar impact in ten years time?
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