CNN rates Nollywood: More than feuds and dramas, Nollywood is a mighty economic machine

They used to be the preserve of informal home gatherings around old flickering TV sets, but Nollywood films have now gone global.

Movie streaming giant Netflix has dedicated an entire section to Nigeria's mega film industry, so rather than having to buy a DVD, viewers around the world can now get their fix of Nigerian drama straight to their computer screens -- Nollywood is notorious for churning out hundreds of movies per month, capturing viewers with stories ranging from romance and drama to comedy and witchcraft.

iROKOtv, a Nigerian online platform for on-demand films, already streams home-grown movies to the diaspora around the world, but with 25% of Nigerians predicted to access the internet via their mobile phone by 2018, the home market is expected to grow too.

Movie star power

Nollywood's biggest stars - Ramsey Nouah, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Genevieve Nnaji and Jeta Amata.

Befitting the mammoth industry that Nollywood is, its glamorous movie stars are revered in the country as any Hollywood A-listers would be. Shown above are four of Nigerian film's most recognizable faces. 

Ramsey Nouah stumbled into the film industry almost by accident. He was looking for funds to cover his school fees when a friend suggested he tried acting. Some 25 years later, Nouah is today one of Nollywood most prolific stars.

Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, heralded as the queen of Nollywood, has appeared in around 300 films since her debut in 1995. Her allure earned her the nickname of "Omosexy," while two years ago she was named one of the top 100 influential people in the world by Time Magazine.

Jeta Amata comes from a family of Nollywood stars, so it was perhaps not surprising that he became one of Nigeria's most prominent film directors. He is often praised for the high production values and strong narratives of his movies, and has worked with both Nollywood and Hollywood famous stars, including Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger.

Genevieve Nnaji, dubbed the "Julia Roberts of Nollywood," has been acting since the age of eight and has won the 2005 African Academy Movie Award for Best Actress.

High output, low profit

Poster for "Ijé: The Journey" Nollywood's highest grossing film so far.

Nigeria's film industry pumps out around 50 movies per week and is estimated to generate around $600 million annually for the country's economy. With more than 1,200 films a year, it's the world's second biggest producer behind India. Nollywood is also Nigeria's second biggest provider of work, employing directly or indirectly more than one million people, according to the United States International Trade Commission.

However, films are typically low-budget and revenues are small. One of the highest grossing Nollywood film so far is thought to be "Ije: The journey", which generated $500,000 when it was released in 2010. It stars two of Nollywood's biggest stars, Genevieve Nnaji and Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde as sisters fighting for justice.

Search of excellence

Musician Wyclef Jean and Akon on the set of Jeta Amata's film "Black November."

In recent years, a new wave of filmmakers who want to shake off Nollywood's reputation for shoddy productions is emerging. Dubbed the New Nigeria cinema, these young professionals want to create a movie industry which can compete with Hollywood -- not just in quantity but also quality.

Actor Wale Ojo, one of the biggest supporters of the movement, told CNN: "New Nigeria Cinema basically means an elevation of Nigerian film -- high production values, good strong narratives, stories that capture the essence of who we are as Nigerians, as Africans.

"And it means also that these films can be shown at international film festivals anywhere in the world, from Toronto to Cannes to Venice."

Read article here: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/10/africa/nollywood-mighty-economic-machine/index.html

Movie Review: Thy Will Be Done

Director- Obi Emelonye

Producers- Obi Emelonye & Jason Njoku

Writer- Tobi Osigwe

Cast- Ramsey Nouah, Mercy Johnson Okojie and Mary Njoku

Time- 5:35 – 6:55pm

Year- 2015

Genre- Drama

“Thy Will Be Done” official premiered in Nigerian cinemas on May 15, and by Saturday May 23 a week later, at the Film House cinema Surulere, we had like 25 people gathered to watch it. Yay!!! Who says Nigerians don’t watch Nigerian movies in the cinemas.

Synopsis:

Thy Will Be Done is the story of Pius a happily married pastor, whose life is thrown in turmoil when his first wife whom he presumed dead 7 years ago suddenly shows up. Pius has a choice to make, between his calling and his wives; his old sins and new loyalties; his taking firm action and surrendering to God’s will.

Sometimes evil begins to look good and vice versa...

Haven’t been to the cinema in a while, so I set out to watch this movie. Now the movie name wasn’t a catch at all (as in…) in fact the ticketing attendant had to hand me a flyer so I could confirm if I actually wanted to watch the movie! (talk about serious things ba!)

That aside, I was actually looking forward to this and coming from prolific director Obi Emelonye (Ije, Last Flight to Abuja and Mirror Boy) I was almost certain that this will be a ball out of the park.

Ramsey Nouah in the lead was a welcome development and this is mainly because Ramsey has been on some sort of hiatus and asides 30 Days in Atlanta, he’s been absent from the industry. Ramsey at Pastor Pius wasn’t a letdown as he can do no wrong (sometimes). He however, needed to do more especially when you look at the presence some of our pastors have on TV. He had the bible quote, praise the Lord and solemn look on lock down, but that’s not all his character could have delivered too. I do like the way Ramsey switches his emotion though; it gives me goose pimples when he does it ‘cause he does it really well.

Playing the first wife come back from the dead was Mary Njoku. She wasn’t too shabby. As a subtle confused looking woman, not sure what to make out of her current situation, she carried it out well. Haven’t seen her in a while as well, but I give her kudos for holding her own.

My champion, however was Mercy Johnson. After this movie, I understand why people say she is good. She gave the right illusion that she was truly dutiful and focused, but wow and wow, she pulled the stunts (not physical stunts oh!) that I have seen actresses like Demi Moore and Angelina pull.

While I was somewhat satisfied at the choice of cast, I cannot say with a straight face that I was crazy about production! OMG. I have one word for production quality; dark, sound quality; poor, make-up; crazy especially on Mercy. Props in the house; could be better, costumes (oh com’on) Ramsey in the suits were awful, most of Mercy’s outfits were tight, making her look bloated and Mary felt like a step child *sigh*. I however, liked the story line and what Tobi Osigwe brought to the production, was a different and fresh and it's been a long time coming. I wouldn’t have gone the Pastor route, but hey! I’m no writer.

With the cinematography and light hellish, not sure what to say about Obi Emelonye’s directing, I liked the area shots and that accident scene (spoiler alert!) was epic, not sure why the person driving lost his ability to walk and the person hit lost her memory, but hey, it is excusable!

“Thy Will be Done earns a 4/10 from Xplore.

Have you seen Obi Emelonye’s “Thy Will be Done” tell me what you think in the comment section.

Watch Kevin Nkem Nwankwor’s ‘Tempting Fate’ Trailer

Tempting Fate is the story of two brothers with different paths in life. While Edu played by Andrew Onochie is a talented singer, calm, reflective and peaceful. Ugo is the hotheaded, impulsive one who has taken to crime to irk out a living and he is played by Ramsey Nouah.

Written, Directed and Produced by Kevin Nwankwor a relative new comer to the Nigerian film industry, Tempting Fate has all the fillings of an action packed suspense feature and will be in Nigerian cinemas on July 15, 2015.

Here are some of the stills:

Watch the Trailer here:-