Nollywood

[GoogaMooga]

NOW STREAMING: a 10-minute doc on Nigeria's booming film industry, known as "Nollywood". First we had Hollywood, then along came Bollywood, and since the early 2000's, the name "Nollywood" has been bandied about. Nigeria produces over 2,000 films annually, and has over a million people employed in the film business. That is something like 1% of the work force, a staggering number. Obviously there is a huge demand for these films, even if most of them are low budget. The big, glossy ones make it to amazon prime, but I wouldn't know where to start. They look like yer typical Hollywood soaps or rom coms, only with Nigerian actors. To me, when I think of African cinema, I think of art house films from Senegal or Mali. But such films barely make a dent outside of the festival circuit. I think what Nollywood needs is to consolidate itself around a smaller output, pour more money and talent into those productions, and cozy up to giants like Netflix. The whole landscape of film distribution and presentation is changing rapidly these days, and with a little luck, Nollywood could be The Next Big Thing.