How many
Nigerian films or TV shows have you watched?
Chances
are, if most of what you watch is what's available in cinemas and on Australian
broadcast TV, you haven't seen any — despite the fact Nigeria is the second
largest producer of film in the world after Hollywood.
But that could be about to change as Nollywood — as the Nigerian
film industry is colloquially known — films hit our small screens as streaming
services tune in to the appetite for more diverse stories.
While
films have been made in Nigeria for as long as people have been making films,
the term Nollywood started to be used in the early 2000s as Nigeria began to
really ramp-up its film production.
In the early 2000s, Nollywood made a name for itself with
quickly made films with often low-production values, which were distributed on
burned DVDs to be more affordable and accessible than the country's few movie
theatres.
These
days Nollywood is still pumping out an impressive volume of films with more
than 1,000 titles released each year, and is also producing films with high
production values and strong storylines that have captured Netflix's attention.
The
global streaming service has had some Nollywood and other African-made films in
its offering for a few years now, but more people started to take notice last
year when it announced it had acquired the worldwide exclusive rights to the
film Lionheart.
Melbourne-based
journalist and filmmaker Santilla Chingaipe says the advertising put behind
Lionheart shows there's an awareness of a global audience ready and waiting for
this Nollywood content.
"There's
an appetite for African stories told by Africans and that led to the rise of
Nigerian cinema and now Netflix has cottoned on to it," she says.
Youtube The
trailer of Lionheart.
'I know that woman': The value of seeing yourself
reflected on screen
The
huge success of Black Panther, which has become one of the top grossing films
of all time, gives some indication of the appetite for diversity in films and
the desire for people to see themselves reflected on screen.
But
while Black Panther was groundbreaking for a Hollywood superhero film due it
its black director and almost entirely black cast, Nollywood has been
demonstrating the importance of representation for decades.
Producer,
writer and filmmaker Dorcas Utkovic grew up in South Africa and says she
remembers Nollywood films being part of the popular culture with friends often
hanging out to watch the latest release on a pirated DVD.
"[It]
was just low budget, really funny, super expressive. Somehow we all just loved
it," she says.
"The
fact that these are [now] available with just the click of a button, it's
wonderful."
Dorcas Utkovic is happy to have more African-made content
being included in mainstream media streaming services.(Supplied: Dorcas Utkovic)
Dorcas
says when she watches Nollywood films, it reflects part of her experience and
life in a way that Western films don't quite match.
"When
I watched [Lionheart], I thought, 'Oh yeah, I know that woman, or I've heard
that uncle, I've got a Nigerian friend who speaks like that', so it was a
lovely thing to watch," Dorcas says.
Sydney-based
actor and playwright Moreblessing Maturure didn't grow up watching Nollywood
films, but is excited about having easier access to stories from the African
continent.
"Just
looking at representations of the black experience, often the African American
lens of that is the one that takes the majority of space within that
dialogue," she says.
Moreblessing
says part of the reason the American and British African experience has
dominated popular culture is because "things that come from the West are
perceived as being 'better'", but she hopes this changes with more money
being invested in the film industries of African nations.
Risk of Nollywood being seen as 'Africa'
While
Moreblessing is happy to see Nollywood content sitting alongside Western-made
cinema, she says it's important to remember Nollywood isn't the only place
making African cinema.
"[Nollywood]
inhabits much of the space around narratives and depictions of African life and
cultures," she says.
"That
can be seen as reflective of all experiences within the continent and the
diaspora."
Moreblessing Maturure hopes to see TV and films exploring
the Australian black experience.
Both
Dorcas and Santilla also want people to remember that Nollywood is not the
beginning and end of African experiences and stories.
"I'm
worried that it might become a singular story of what the African continent
is," Santilla says.
"It is
a continent of 54 countries … in many parts of the African continent cinema is
vibrant and it's a big thing."
But
if you're yet to discover any African cinema, Santilla says there's nothing
wrong starting with the curated offering on Netflix.
"In
many ways it gets people who have had no experience or interaction with the
continent to learn more about what contemporary Africa looks like and see
stories in a way that African stories are generally represented."
How to find more African stories, including
Australian ones
Image Santilla
Chingaipe says film festivals, streaming services and the internet are great
sources for finding content from all over Africa.(Supplied: Santilla Chingaipe)
While
the Netflix juggernaut leads other streaming services in terms of African
content, it's not the only place you can find African shows and films.
Santilla
recommends checking out the offering of free films on SBS On Demand.
"One
of my favourite films that was made last year … it's called I'm Not A Witch,
and that's streaming on SBS On Demand for free," she says.
She
also recommends looking out for African film festivals, if there's any near
you, as a great way to be exposed to a range of stories and genres from various
African countries.
For
stories exploring the Australian African experience, Oz African
TV offers episodes online and
you can watch a series called Afro
Sistahs on YouTube to
give you a small taste of our Australian African stories.
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