A peak inside Nigeria's film industry

• Author: Sandra Oyewole
• Position: Partner, Olajide Oyewole LLP
• Pages: 2-5

p. 2 2014 | 2

A PEAK INSIDE

NIGERIA’S FILM

INDUSTRY By Sandra Oyewole,

Partner, Ola jide Oyewole LLP

In April 2012, it was reported that the US hedge fund, Tiger

Global Management, had invested U S$8 million in iROKOtv,

the world’s largest online distributor of license d Nollywood lms.

This substantial injec tion of funds to scale-up iROKOtv’s video

streaming operations was testimony to the growin g international

prominence of Nigeria’s lm industry. Nollywood, as Nigeria’s

lm industry is popul arly known, produces on average 1500

lms per year. This makes it the largest lm in dustry in Africa and

globally, second only to Bollywood. T he industry’s phenomenal

growth in the last two decad es is nothing short of incredible.

THE STORIES AND T HE FILMS

Nigeria’s lm industry was born many de cades ago. It comprises

English language lms (Nollywood), the Yoruba lm industry,

the Kano lm industry (K annywood) which produces lms in

Hausa, Igbo language lm s as well as those in other indige-

nous languages of Niger ia. The direct-to-video (VHS, VCD and

DVD) distribution system which is a hallm ark of Nollywood was

triggered in 1992 with the lm Living in Bond age, the rst com-

mercially success ful movie shot straight-to-video. It heralded a

new era of Nigerian lmma king demonstrating what could be

achieved with few resources an d lowering barriers to entry for

many talented lmmakers.

Nigeria’s diverse cultural traditions and lifestyles (180 million

people, 300 tribes and s ome 500 languages), offer a wealth of

material from which the countr y’s lmmakers skilfully draw to

recount simple stories of dai ly life that resonate with Nigerians,

as well as audiences sh aring a similar culture and heritage

across Africa and the Afr ican diaspora. These colorf ul and

entertaining stories c apture the imagination of audiences;

they echo their life-expe riences, feature a strong moral theme

and yes, juju (black magic). Newer gener ations of lmmakers,

however, are focusing on harder-hitting social issues such as

rape (Tango with Me), domestic abuse (Ije) and cancer (Living

Funeral). Nollywood is recognized a s an expression of the depth

and breadth of Africa’s cultural diversit y. It is enabling Afr icans

to tell their own story.

Although Nollywood’s distinctive story-telling holds broad

appeal, the lms produced have tend ed to be of low technic al

quality. Films with predictable storylines have been churned

out according to tried and tested formu lae. For many years,

lmmakers made lms without a formal script, with actors

simply making up thei r lines as they went along. In recent years

however, lmmakers are working hard to shed amateur prac-

tices and placing greater emphasis on enhancing the quality

of lms produced.

AN INFORMAL STRUCTURE

To a large extent, the Nigerian lm industry re mains informal

with a structure that is understood a nd that works for its lm-

makers. It is a notorious fact that in spite of Nige ria’s copyright

law, which expressly provides for writ ten contracts to prove

ownership of lms, chain of title (the bu ndle of documents that

prove ownership of the rights in a lm) has not bee n an important

factor in raising lm nance in Ni geria. This can be attributed to

the operations of Nigeria n lm marketers who have for many

years monopolized the business of nancing, producing and

distributing English lang uage lms in Nigeria. The marketers op-

erate networks of shops and other ou tlets and wield signicant

inuence over which lms are m ade and sold. Revenues are

almost exclusively derive d from home video rentals and sales

and this has to a large extent, worked in their intere sts. It is this

model that helped catap ult Nollywood on to the world stage.

The industry’s informality a nd the absence of a plan, outlining

how to capture a return on investment, has deterred other fo rms

of private nancing and closed th e door on potentially lucrative

distribution opportunities in overseas markets where chain

of title is a prerequisite. However in recent yea rs, lmmakers,

independent of the marketers h ave begun to emerge. These

lmmakers, with business proposals, the right contacts and

perseverance, are able to secure  nance from public and pri-

vate sources. Several of lms produced by the se independent

lmmakers also have the required c hain of title agreements in

place. Quite a few are now being premie red in Nigerian cinemas

and selected countrie s around the world. The theatrical release

means that lmmakers ca n now derive revenue from ticket sales.

DISTRIBUTION MATTERS

In the 1980s, Nigeria’s cinema-going culture went into decline,

triggering the phenomenal growth of direct-to-video produc-

tion mentioned earlie r. At that time, television broadc asting of

Nigerian lms was ver y limited. This, coupled with rampant