The Nigerian entertainment Industry has experienced a massive development over the years; the Nollywood of yesterday is no longer the same Nollywood that we have now. It is currently ranked as the second largest in the world in terms of output after India’s Bollywood. This change or evolution cannot be properly justified without a brief history of the Nollywood.
The first films in Nigeria were made by filmmakers such as Ola-Balogun, Moses Olaiya and Hubert Ogunde in the 1960s. In 1972, the indigenization decree was issued by Yakubu Gowon which demanded the transfer of ownership of about 300 film theatres from their foreign owners to Nigerians, which resulted in more Nigerians playing active roles in films and cinemas.
‘Papa Ajasco’ by Wale Adenuga in 1984 became the first grossing film with N61, 000; in 2015, it grew higher to N21, 552, 673. A year later, ‘Mosebolatan’ by Moses Olaiya also went ahead to gross N107, 000 in five days. The Nigerian film Industry experienced another huge success with the release of the film ‘Living in Bondage’ in 1992. One of the first Nigerian films to reach international fame was ‘Osuofia in London,’ released in 2003 which starred the popular Nigerian Comic actor, Nkem Owoh.
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The first Nollywood films were produced with traditional analog video but presently, Nollywood movies are produced with digital video technology. Time magazine published an article that rated Nollywood Industry as the third largest after USA’s Hollywood and behind India’s Bollywood production.
The success of the Nigerian industry over the years led to the debate of Old Nollywood vs New Nollywood, due to the significant change and transformations recorded in the film industry. This debate often pits the veteran practitioners against new faces of Nollywood over who laid the foundation of the industry and who is responsible for the international recognition given to the Industry. The differences reflect in quality brought about by advancement in technology and innovation; quantity, the amount of films produced annually is high making Nigeria the third largest film producers in the world; talent which is said to be on a decline and international recognition, which the luxury of the social media and internet has bestowed on the industry.
The development of Nollywood can be seen in recent films live 30 Days in Atlanta (2014); The Wedding Party (2016), King of Boys, The Merry Men, Jenifa’s Diary and many more. These films have gained international recognition and popularity; they also show a change in the plot and storyline of the films as a lot more creative writers are beginning to show up.
In 2009, Kunle Afolayan’s ‘The Figurine’ became a game changer with its success, both domestically and internationally, the film grossed N30 million. The following year, ‘Ije,’ by Chineze Anyaene overtook it. The title then moved on to ‘Half of a Yellow Sun,’ a movie adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel, then moved on to Kemi Adetiba’s ‘Wedding Party.’
Nollywood continues to grow and shows no signs of slowing down, our light continues to shine. The challenge is ensuring the light shines even brighter in the future.
Olagunju Elizabeth Olamide,
olagunjuelizabeth489@gmail.com
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