Hooray for the Women of Nollywood

(By Tara Brady) - Making it in Nigerian film isn’t easy - just ask Tope Oshin Ogun [pictured] director, producer, actress, dialogue coach, casting director and mother of four boys.

Nollywood, as we are often told, is the third largest film industry in the world, placing just behind behind Hollywood in the US and Bollywood in India. The numbers are extraordinary; Nigeria produces an average of 50 movies each week and makes some $590 million each year.

Until her unexpected death in 2014, Amaka Igwe was one of the most authoritative figures in Nigeria’s cinematic landscape. Igwe, the writer, director and producer of such well-regarded films as Rattlesnake and Violated, helped transform Nollywood from a cheap and cheerful, amateurish, video- based sector into a professional industry, replete with its own film grammar, genres and pan-African audience.

Nollywood's Evolution and Staying Power

Africa Magic Awards 2015: Matter Arising

(CharlesNoviaDaily) At 21:52 pm CAT, when IK Osakioduwa and Vimbai, hosts of the 2015 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, had signed off from the show and brought in P Square, I was left scratching my head a bit as I walked out slowly out of the hall with some of the invited guests.

I was puzzled. There was something about this year’s AMVCA which lacked the punch the last two editions had. I couldn’t place my finger on it and it kept nagging me all night as I played the event over and over in my mind. You see, I have attended lots of high-profile events and the AMVCA is one I always look forward to attending, not just as a filmmaker but also as a reviewer and this year’s was no exception.

In Memoriam: Amaka Igwe, Nollywood's Finest

Nollywood mourns the death of Amaka Igwe, one of its pioneer movie makers. The celebrated film director, screenwriter, and producer, died on Tuesday, 29 April, at the age of 51, following complications from an asthma attack.

We will remember the doyen of Nigerian screen industry as a visionary and pioneer of modern Nigerian TV drama and film, particularly for her award-winning classic TV soap, Checkmate and its spinoff Fuji House of Commotion as well as for her critically-acclaimed Nollywood blockbusters, Rattle Snake 1 & 2 and Violated. 

The accomplished entrepreneur who died doing what she loved most (she reportedly died on the set of a movie in Enugu, southeast Nigeria) founded the Amaka Igwe Studios, BoB TV Expo, and was the chief executive officer of  Top Radio 90.9 FM and the recently-launched Q Entertainment Networks.

Nicknamed GOC (General Officer Commanding) as a kid by her father, because of her leadership qualities, Amaka Igwe started making money as an A-Level student at Idia College, Benin City, organizing house variety shows. She later studied education and religious studies at the then University of Ife and got her Masters in library and information services from the University of Ibadan.

Following her national youth service in the 1980s, Amaka Igwe pursued her interest in television at the then Anambra State Broadcasting Service, Enugu (home to Basi & Company and New Masquerade). It was there that she got the inspiration for Checkmate after watching the popular soap, Mirror in the Sun.