Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry was ranked by UNESCO in 2006 as the 2nd largest film industry in the world. “Nollywood”, Nigeria’s film industry, was ranked by UNESCO in 2006 as the 2nd largest film industry in the world, producing a staggering 872 films in 2006. This is just shy of Bollywood’s 1091 and many more than the 485 produced by Hollywood. This is all despite the fact that the first true Nollywood film only appeared in 1992 making Nollywood less than 20 years old.

This burst of activity can be attributed, largely, to the unique industry-audience relationship on which Nollywood thrives. This, one could argue, is defined by Nigeria itself. Nollywood’s essence, however, may be at risk of diminishment from a new formalization process.

Nollywood films typically have simple stories with themes such as love, crime, corruption and ‘rags to riches’ plotlines, but also often include a heavy emphasis on religion or ideas such as voodoo and rituals. The films usually have simple dialogue, melodramatic acting and very basic production, much in the style of soap operas or home movies. This is because they are made cheaply with the emphasis on quantity, and not quality. The films are made on digital cameras, straight to DVD, with an average budget of around $20,000. Ninety-nine percent of film screenings in Nigeria are not in cinemas but are instead DVDs bought from local markets, shown in homes or restaurants. They are generally filmed over a period of roughly two weeks, and are sent quickly to local markets to be sold for the equivalent of a couple of pounds. Remarkably there are thirty new films being sent to market every week and each of these can expect to sell 50,000 copies. A blockbuster sells four times that number.

These characteristics of Nollywood reflect the Nigerian film market, and thus what the Nigerian people want; they are not just a product of low standards of professionalism, little funding and a young industry. Nigeria needs a Nollywood, where stories can be told by Nigerians from a Nigerian perspective, in a way that they can relate to. “What is unique”, Zeb Ejiro, the vice-chairman of the Nigerian Film and Broadcast company says, “is that we tell our African story our own way: we are telling our own story and they, the audience, can see themselves in it and relate. People see it and say, ‘Yeah that’s how my grandfather said it’.”

In the early 90’s the Nigerian political and economic climate made it difficult for a ‘traditional’ film industry to survive. Furthermore, street crime forced most cinemas to close and high import taxes made the availability of foreign films scarce. These conditions, in addition to digital cameras becoming more affordable, prompted the entrepreneurship that Nollywood is built on; indeed the first Nollywood film “Living in Bondage” was made by a businessman to ensure that he would get a better price for the blank tapes he was trying to sell. Nollywood films still thrive in Nigeria now, despite access to Hollywood films drastically increasing since the 90s, because Nollywood films tell stories about Nigerians from a Nigerian perspective.

This rapid boom of Nollywood, however, has not come without a price. The Nollywood market is reaching saturation point due to the large quantities of films being produced. Additionally, there are power cuts, traffic jams, problems with street crime, and censors.

The greatest problem facing Nollywood, though, is piracy. According to CNN as great a proportion as fifty percent of the film industry’s profits are going to people selling pirated films. Isikaku, a Nollywood film producer, says that piracy has had a huge effect on him: “I couldn’t make anything from it”, he said, referring to his latest film “Plane Crash”. “Because of piracy I didn’t even break even. A lot of people watched the film but unfortunately they watched pirated copies”.

This has increased exponentially with the development of video compression technology that enables as many as 20 films to be stored on one DVD and yet be sold for the same price as one film. According to Dr. Sylvester Ogbechie, the president of the Nollywood Foundation in LA, “this new development in piracy has the potential to kill the industry off completely”.

Furthermore, television networks in both Nigeria and other countries have taken to showing Nollywood films either without even telling the producers or directors, or telling them and paying them very little. Isikaku says that this also has the knock-on effect that investors are now less likely to invest in film, because they know that they are going to lose half their profits to pirating. “You think twice before you invest in film productions now. […] Investors are being discouraged”. Funding has become a huge issue. According to Akin Adesokan, a Nigerian and assistant Professor in Comparative Literature at the University of Indiana, “film makers are still not assured of substantial bank loans. They depend on big men, oftentimes lousy big men”.

Aerial view of Abuja, Nigeria. ©iStockphoto.com/Lingbeek

Many films are made by being sent out to China, where the technology is readily available to make the pirated films and mass produce them. They are then transported back into Nigeria. Many, therefore, are calling for the Nigerian government to have tighter border controls and watch out specifically for pirated DVDs re-entering the country.

Whilst some of these problems are simply characteristic of Nigeria, the pressing issue of piracy has caused the Nigerian government to vow to formalize the film industry and, in so doing, help to save Nollywood. Much of the formalization effort is being spearheaded by Nigeria’s National Film and Video Censors Board, and at its head, Director-General Emeka Mba. “There has to be some process of formalizing the industry”, Mba says, “giving the industry depth and that’s where the government can come in through regulation, through incentives and create that process of empowerment for the industry”.

It is not obvious, however, what formalizing the industry would actually entail. The development of groups such as the National Film and Video Censors Board, and increasing numbers of actors joining the Nigerian Actors’ Guild could play a part. In 2002 there was also a voluntary halt on film production for a month when it was realized that the number of films being produced was reaching simply absurd levels. Before the halt, there were fifty-four films produced in one week; it was decided during the break to limit the number to eight.

There are many issues associated with any sort of formalization of such an industry in a country like Nigeria. First of all, corruption in the government would make any constructive policy difficult to enact. “The Nigerian government is not capable of solving any problems from Nollywood”, Dr. Ogbechie says, “mainly because they won’t enforce existing laws. In a country where the government cannot even guarantee a steady power supply, I’m afraid people no longer look to the government for any solutions”. Paul Obazele, the president of the Nigerian Association of Movie Producers claims, “we just can’t compete, and the Nigerian Copyright Commission is a joke. The truth is that the Government has only paid lip service to this industry”.

There is also a chance that too much formalization could lead to Nollywood losing the uniqueness that has enabled it to be so successful. While suggested policies such as cutting down on rental clubs, regulating the showing of films on television, and controlling the borders could work, other ideas such as regulating the number of directors, and having restrictions on what films can be made, might only hurt the industry.

Formalization would, in all likelihood, push for fewer, but higher quality films to be made. This would make it more expensive to make films. Fewer directors would thus be able to afford to make films, so fewer Nigerians would be able to be involved in the industry. DVD costs would also have to rise to accommodate the raised production costs, which would lead to the average Nigerian not being able to afford the DVDs, which would in turn further encourage piracy. The only way to keep down costs would be through subsidies from the government, but this type of program is not possible until the rampant corruption in Nigeria is suitably addressed.

Before the ‘traditional’ film industry of Nigeria had dwindled in the political and economic climate of the 1990s, Nigerian directors would often do their editing overseas in Europe. A fully formalized Nollywood would surely shift closer to that kind of international structure, which would mean diminished Nigerian involvement. According to The Times, Nollywood is now Nigeria’s second-largest employer after the government. A reduction is such involvement could have a profound effect on the economy, and could also possibly cause a loss in the Nigerian perspective that makes these films unique.

Nollywood is only 20 years old. It is, therefore, inevitable that it should be plagued by some issues. Hopefully it will be able to overcome these, to ensure that the Nigerians, and those who import the films, have an alternative to Hollywood stories. Some sort of formalization of the industry is necessary, but can only really function whilst the key characteristics of Nollywood are kept intact.

In any case, it is doubtful that Nollywood can keep up its vast rate of expansion for a sustainable period. Perhaps it will be the entrepreneurial spirit that inspired Nollywood in the first place that will be able to instead find a solution to the problems of Nollywood. “All hope is not lost because we are passionate”, says Isikaku. “Nollywood can come together to take action to help this industry to survive”. Dr. Ogbechie agrees, “Nollywood will survive and as it grows, needed structures will develop and enable further growth. I think its future is very bright”.