Cinefile

Every week, approximately fifty new feature film productions are released to the public in Lagos, Nigeria.  Most films are made with a budget between $5,000 and $15,000. There are no theaters and no DVD players available to the majority of the public. All films go direct to VHS and VCD format.  Despite these micro budgets, currently the industry generates over $280 million (USD) for the Nigerian economy each year.

"Nollywood" is now considered the third largest film industry in the world today. Some estimates state that industry is in-fact larger per capita than Hollywood. In Welcome To Nollywood, documentarian Jamie Meltzer takes his storytelling to the streets of Nigeria, where a booming digital movie making industry has been taking the country by storm for the past decade.

Enter Chico Ejiro, known as "Mr. Prolific," who since 1998 has directed over 100 feature films.  Ejiro explains that it typically takes him just 5 days to make an average feature.  The first thing I asked myself was, how much does the quality of a film suffer when such a small amount of time is put into it?  There's no question these features aren't anything like a typical feature from a studio in the West.  Don't forget, this is Africa, where everything is low-budget because it has to be. There are no other options. Nigerian filmmakers do not have access to any of the resources we take for granted here in the US, for example.  In fact, in a Nigerian production it is not unusual for the electricity to fail multiple times while shooting interiors because the electricity that powers the small houses or buildings is usually supplied by a generator--usually one not designed to handle proper camera lighting.  So yes, in general the films have a very low budget look to them.  However, this has not prevented Enjiro and other directors and producers from turning this low budget, "guerrilla-style" filmmaking technique into an enormous nationwide industry. Though the films are considered to be "guerilla," it may not be a cut & dry as you may think. Enjiro, who specializes in action films even sets up his own casting sessions for would-be action stars.  During these sessions he lines up a group of young Nigerian men and shows them how to take kicks, punches and how to die from a gunshot.  Meltzer gets some great shots of this session: At one point a young candidate allows Enjiro to tape a firecracker to a thin piece of cardboard, strap it to his chest, light it and then the candidate has to flip over backward--all to enact a fairly realistic death scene.

Producers explain that the reason the domestic movie scene is so robust in Nigeria is due to the moral aspects and familiar stories told in the films; writers and directors spin tales that everyday people can relate to and are familiar with. Nigerians are also deeply rooted in their spirituality and connection to religion and many films deal with issues of faith and social morality. Occultism is also another popular cinematic theme in Nigerian movies.

Nigerian movies are released only on VHS and VCD.  Why DVD has yet to become a home media standard is not explored but I assume since the industry as a whole is essentially a grass-roots effort that does not depend on government subsidies, this change over is simply too costly for producers and consumers.  Each VHS tape costs $1 produce and is sold on the streets for $3.  Methods of negotiating distribution are also profoundly different from what Western filmmakers encounter.  A Nigerian filmmaker will often make a film in less then 10 days at an average cost of around $15,000 including promotion. They approach a distributor and offer to provide the master tape for $20,000, keeping $5,000 for themselves. Done deal.  Next film. Since Nigerian filmmakers cannot afford to work in celluloid, all films are shot digitally.

One particularly captivating scene is that of a filmmaker putting together pieces of cheap wood and tin--and actually makes his own mini projector. Crude as hell yet fully functional. This is how some Nigerian filmmakers learned about the medium.  Imagine having to make your own projector in order to show 8mm films to a small room of people?  That is passion and dedication defined.

As Ejiro explains, it is through the digital medium that Nigerians have found their voices. The Nigerian movie scene and its tireless moviemakers are a profound testament to the medium of motion pictures.  These filmmakers have modified the large movie industry model; theirs is not predicated on three-hundred person movie theaters in every village, grandiose special effects and multi-million dollar movie deals. This industry was forged through grass roots efforts, hard work and a passion and commitment to storytelling. The Nigerian film industry is an inspiration to all independent filmmakers everywhere and delivers a message that anything can be done by just simply doing it.