Glamour Girls Remake: Boring, Confusing, Disappointing

(By Shola-Adido Oladotun) - Glamour Girls will make you reconsider watching Nollywood movies 

     Nollywood films have continued to teach valuable life lessons over the years, and Netflix’s latest original film, Glamour Girls, is no exception. After watching the remake of the 1994 classic, it is safe to say that Play Network Studios should abandon the idea of remaking or rebooting 90s series or films. 

    Glamour Girls, as the title suggests, is a film about a group of escorts and how they deal with their relationships and problems. 

    Unlike other Netflix originals I’ve seen, I had little hope for this one because the trailer looked like something a first-year film student would make. However, I decided to give it a shot because it starred some of the industry’s top actors. 

    Confused and disappointed are two of the least accurate words to describe my feelings after watching Glamour Girls. The film was flat and uninteresting in every way. It felt like I was watching Chief Daddy 2 all over again, except this time the movie was about four ladies, it explored the theme of prostitution, and it was more boring. 

LaVida Studios Secures USD50m Deal

(By Shaibu Husseini) - Good news for Nollywood from LaVida Studios and The Story Lab U.S. 

    Nollywood practitioners are gearing up to exhale in a big way soon, as leading Nigeria production studio, LaVida Studios, has secured $50 million production investment and signed a 10-project slate with Dentsu’s The Story Lab, USA. 

    Chioma Ude, founder of AFRIFF and Managing Partner in LaVida Studios who broke the news on Wednesday, disclosed that the deal, a three-year collaboration with The Story Lab is for 10 films and television properties, focused on bringing African stories to the global stage. Ude also disclosed that the alliance, which focuses on both scripted and unscripted film and TV projects, would birth production serviced exclusively by LaVida Studios for all Africa-based production out of The Story Lab. 

    A statement on the deal indicates that PAC Capital Limited has committed an initial $50 million for LaVida’s film and TV projects, including the collaboration with The Story Lab. The funding is being accessed from PAC Capital’s PanAfrican CCI Fund 1, which is a $100 million fund dedicated to financing film production and distribution in Africa. 

Amazon Prime Video Commissions Nollywood Slate Deal

(By Damilare Dosunmu) -

Amazon Prime Video commissions Nollywood’s Nemsia Films for 3 films 

    On Tuesday, Nollywood production house, Nemsia Films, announced that it closed an exclusive slate deal for 3 commissioned feature films with American streaming giant, Amazon Prime Video, which made its foray into Nollywood in December last year. 

     In theory, a slate deal in filmmaking is when one party (in this case, Amazon Prime Video) has agreed to either co-finance or solely finance multiple films of a particular film studio (in this case, Nemsia Films). In practice, Amazon is reserving the IP rights of the 3 films on the slate deal, and will cover their production costs. They would likely be called Amazon originals. 

    “We are very excited to collaborate with Nemsia Films on this pioneering slate deal, which will complement our growing lineup of local Nollywood content for Prime Video customers,” Ayanna Lonian, Director of Content Acquisition and Head of Worldwide Major Studio Licensing Strategy at Prime Video, said in a statement sent to TechCabal. “This slate deal supports our goal to showcase Nollywood at its best, by telling authentic home-grown stories in a range of genres to Prime Video customers around the world.” 

Amazon Prime Video Comes To Nollywood

(By Thomas Page, CNN) -

Amazon's going to Nollywood -- and its deals with studios could shake up one of the world's most prolific filmmaking hubs 

    In its hunt for content, Amazon Prime Video has turned to Nigeria, where it has secured key deals with studios that could shake up business in Africa's most prolific filmmaking hub. 

    In recent months, the US giant has signed exclusive streaming agreements with Inkblot Productions and Anthill Studios -- which say the deals will fundamentally change the way they operate. 

     Chinaza Onuzo, co-founder of Inkblot Productions, the studio behind domestic hits "The Wedding Party" and "Up North," told CNN Business the company has signed a three-year licensing deal running through to 2024. The deal will see Inkblot's upcoming releases move onto Amazon's platform after showing in cinemas. 

     "This allows us to plan long-term," Onuzo says. Instead of film-by-film commissioning, the company is looking at possible intellectual property deals and franchise potential in Inkblot's existing titles. "It has given us the opportunity to broaden the genres that we explore (and) given us the opportunity to work with a with a wider mix of filmmakers and talents," he adds. 

"I Loved Malcolm Because Malcolm Never Lied."

 "I loved Malcom because Malcolm never lied, unlike the schools and their façade of morality, unlike the streets and their bravado, unlike the world of dreamers. I loved him because he made it plain, never mystical or esoteric, because his science was not rooted in the actions of spooks and mystery gods but in the work of the physical world. Malcolm was the first political pragmatist I knew, the first honest man I'd ever heard. He was unconcerned with making the people who believed they were white comfortable in their belief. If he was angry, he said so. If he hated, he hated because it was human for the enslaved to hate the enslaver, natural as Prometheus hating the birds. He would not turn the other cheek for you. He would not be a better man for you. He would not be your morality. Malcolm spoke like a man who was free, like a black man above the laws that proscribed our imagination. I identified with him." 

Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2015, 36

Between the World and Me

Nollywood, Internet Streaming Boom, and Piracy

(By Frank Eleanya) Nollywood battles internet pirates as streaming booms 

    

Blood Sisters, which is supposed to be exclusive to Netflix, has been uploaded on NetNaija, a free-to-air streaming platform notorious for movie piracy 

    Nigeria’s film industry, popularly known as Nollywood, is grappling with rising cases of internet piracy as streaming is booming. 

    ‘Blood Sisters’, produced by Mo Abudu, premiered in May 2022 to rave reviews from movie fans, has since ranked number 9 on Netflix globally and attracted about 11.0 million hours of viewing. 

    However, the movie, which is supposed to be exclusive to Netflix, has been uploaded on NetNaija, a free-to-air streaming platform notorious for movie piracy. It is not only Blood Sisters that is now streaming free on NetNaija, nearly all the Nigerian movies, including ‘King of Boys: Return of the King’ released on Netflix, have been uploaded on the piracy platform. 

    ‘Blood Sisters’, ‘King of Boys: Return of the King’, and many other Nollywood productions are also being downloaded from 02Tvseries. As of May 15, the platform has recorded 51,533 views for ‘Blood Sisters’. 

Wale Fanu: Adieu to a Nollywood Enabler

(By Femi Odugbemi) - Wale Fanu: Patron saint of possibilities  

Adieu to a Nollywood enabler! Wale Fanu (21st April 1950-10th June 2022) 

    ONE of the tragedies of an insurgent creative movement like Nollywood is that a few important heroes of its emergence are martyred uncelebrated in their time. Ask any random young filmmaker in Nollywood who is Wale Fanu or even Cinekraft Studios and you are most likely to draw a blank. 

    Whilst there is no deliberate conspiracy to deny due credit to these heroes, we seem to only wake up to count our loss after they depart. It is what has deepened the grief of many like myself when we learnt of the passing of dear Wale Fanu Co-Founder/CEO of Cinekraft Films at the weekend. 

    He was a veteran and venerable TV/film Producer whose career works spanned broadcasting and film. He was also the energizer of many heritage projects in independent production in the late 80s and 90s and personal mentor to emerging storytellers across spectrum. 

    Wale Fanu was trained and worked as a cineast in the days of celluloid. And sometime in the 80s he bravely stepped out of the security of civil service to co-found with Tunde Kelani and others what then was an insurgent production company from the garage of his family house at 7 Jakande Close Surulere. That address would become iconic in the history of film/TV production in Africa. 

Of Jukun Culture and Traditions: The Aku Uka's Funeral and Matters Arising

(By Moses E Ochonu) – The Aku Uka’s Funeral and Matters Arising 

    The recent funeral of the late Aku Uka of Wukari, the traditional ruler of the ancient Jukun empire, one of the oldest in the Nigerian territorial areas in Nigeria. Thanks to social media and the democratization of audiovisual and photographic technology, many of us got to watch it unfold in real-time or real-time videos of it. 

    Already, instead of celebrating this beautifully passionate display of an ancient, traditional African funerary practice and its self-affirming and proud survival in the face of colonial and postcolonial pressures, I see derisive and dismissive contempt for the rites from the usual suspects. 

    The sight of thousands of men, women, boys, and children dressed in the traditional, hand-woven Jukun tie-dyed loincloth and adoringly marching, singing, and ululating to send their beloved king to the other side is remarkable. 

    But not everyone is impressed. The Pentecostal crowd is out in full force, condemning what it sees as demonic, cultic funeral rituals of the late king’s transition to the land of the ancestors. The problem I have with my Pentecostal brethren is that they sometimes have a hard time accepting a world where people of other religions can find their path to God or spiritual happiness. And they insist on applying the logic and exegetical rules of their faith to other religions and belief systems. 

Nigeria, Nollywood, Magical Religiosity, and Ritual Murders

(By Dr. Luke Emehiele Ijezie) – The Rise in Ritual Murders and Poisoning: Influence of Nollywood and Magical Religiosity 

    The Nigerian society is currently awash with increasing cases of ritual killings and maimings of people through one form of occultic violence or the other. It is still a mystery how these things work, but one needs not underrate the reality and power of demonic forces. The troubling thing is that the phenomenon appears to be fuelled by our movie industry, Nollywood, and our Pentecostal type religiosity together with the ever increasing healing and adoration centres. 

    The movie industry dramatizes and celebrates ritually acquired wealth. People are given the false impression that they can achieve breakthrough in life instantly by simply passing through a ritual process, which most of the time involves the killing or maiming of somebody. The situation is that someone is some where celebrating the arrival of new wealth and fame while some other is heartbroken somewhere because of the killing of a loved one perpetrated by the celebrant of the new wealth. 

Of Nollywood Films and Ritual Killings: The Gods Are Not To Blame

(By Peace Anyiam-Osigwe MFR) – THE gods ARE TO BLAME

     The high level of ignorance exhibited by the members of our house of representatives, in deciding that the fact that our films mirror our societies ills is the reason money making rituals are on the rise, is inexcusable.  

    Unfortunately, this shows how little our so called political leaders actually understand the structures with which the Nigerian film industry operates. 

    For one, we are one of the few countries in the world that has a censorship board rather than a classification board and our films are made within the ability to get the censorship certificates. 

    Do we depict rituals in our films? Yes. 

    However, most of our stories are derived from actual events witnessed or reported by the media – and in some cases, told by victims or individuals related to the story or cases. 

    Our eroded value system has a lot to do with the total collapse of our cultural values which consumption of material wealth is the evidence of suceess. Our political structure portrays immediate wealth after or through successfully winning an election by stealing or manipulating votes. 

    Stories abound as how political aspirants have to swear oaths of allegiance to their godfathers, as prostitutes, who are being trafficked abroad also do. 

Nigerian Youth, Popular Culture, and Ritual Killing

Taaooma Comedy: RITUALIST // JONATHAN JOBURG

 

"I Am Not Strong in the Face of Grief" - Adichie

I Am Not Strong In The Face Of Grief - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 

Of the Church and Compassionate Priests: "The Priest Matters" - Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Addresses The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria. August 25th, 2021