Stars turned out at a Los Angeles movie awards ceremony
Saturday, Sept. 13, not for Hollywood, but Nollywood, Nigeria's booming film industry.
Africa's answer to the Oscars, the NAFCAs, the Nollywood
and African Film Critics' Awards was held at L.A.'s Saban Theatre, and saw the
stars of Nigeria's fast-growing film industry come out in force.
Nollywood has exploded in recent years, outstripping
the more established film industries in various areas.
In the country that now represents Africa's largest
economy, Nigeria's film industry has become its second largest employer,
and produces about twice as many professional films as Hollywood each year.
While the industry has grown exponentially in the last ten
years and soared above Hollywood in terms of number of films produced, it is
far behind Western countries in terms of box office revenue, as most of the
movies are straight-to-DVD or CD – depending on quality – and sold for US$1-2.
