Nollywood, Piracy, and Post-Colonialism

(By Jack Kyono) – At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, cinephiles and entertainment reporters are abuzz with excitement, the latter framing out the headlines of what has quickly become one of the premier events of the year for film screenings, celebrities, and industry gossip. Many of the top stories come from the usual stars: Chloë Grace Moretz shines in her new film, Brain on Fire; the success of the Rob Reiner-directed biopic, LBJ, affirms the rom-com icon’s successful transition to more serious material, and designer-turned-director Tom Ford unveils the first trailer for his stylish, sophomore feature, Nocturnal Animals.

Behind all the usual Hollywood headlines, however, lies a storyline unknown to the average American, but one that could mean a world of change for an entire continent. As part of the TIFF’s “City to City” program, highlighted are the films of Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city and the center of its prolific and controversial film industry, Nollywood.

Nigeria's Entertainment Industry and the Bane of Piracy

Movie lovers hunt for the latest Nigerian films in the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, and Guangzhou's Little Africa; Nigerian songs play in clubs from London to Kuala Lumpur. But the lion's share of the profit goes to pirates who didn't invest a penny in studio time or camera equipment.

"By some estimates, for every legitimate [movie DVD] copy that is sold by the producer, another five to 10 copies are sold by pirates," said a World Bank study last year. Music CDs are also mass-replicated, leading to losses valued at hundreds of millions of dollars for the film and music industries.

Developing countries have increasingly been looking to creative goods as a source of revenue, according to the study. Asian economies accounted for more than three-quarters of total exports of creative goods from the global south. In Latin America and the Caribbean, exports of creative goods more than doubled – from £2.1bn to $5.3bn – between 1996 and 2005. But Africa, which accounts for less than 1% of creative goods exports, has been left behind.

Nollywood, Piracy and Poor Distribution

Nollywood: A Thing or Two About Piracy and Lost Revenues, by Jide Rotilu

Nigeria’s movie industry ‘NOLLYWOOD’ has witnessed a year unlike none other with a $200 million stimulus package from Mr. President and more international producers interested in our heart land stories, it is certain Nollywood’s future is extremely promising.

The triumphant rise of home video production began in the early 90’s with the production of ‘Living in Bondage’. In the early years, there were strong story plots with passionate film makers sweating to ensure the viewers felt their passion. This trend dwindled fast as demand for content increased and marketers were eager to see faster returns on investment, which meant hastened movie production. The demand increased and the production supply had to be rushed which inevitably replaced passionate film making with only a thirst for money. The movie productions got so fast that on average about 2000 movies were made annually. This sales figure led to Nollywood’s recognition as one of the largest Movie Industries in the World in terms of ‘quantity’ while Quality was a concept not understood by many.

Nollywood: A Resource That Needs Control

Resource Control has become an important political and economic lexicon in modern geo political realities. In the emerging economies of the world, most especially in Africa, resource control has accounted for numerous armed conflicts, political instability, and economic stagnation.

Resources in emerging economies like Nigeria are primarily ascribed to natural & physical properties like oil and gas, agricultural products, gold, diamond and like products that are discoverable fro under the bowels of the earth.

The attraction to tangible properties like oil, commonly called the “black gold” in Nigeria has resulted in the neglect of other resources which could compete, if not out-rank oil in terms of wealth generation. Intellectual property rights are resources that Nigerians have neglected or unaware of as a property. It is an intangible property that has generated economic growth and wealth in counties like United States, India, Japan, France and United Kingdom. In the United States, Hollywood has contributed  immensely to the nation’s GDP. In India, Bollywood has contributed greatly to the nations economy. It is the strength of its intellectual property  regime that has propel these entertainment capitals of the world to become economic and cultural model, that most of the world desire to emulate. The copyrights, patent, trademark & publicity rights policies of these countries have been a motivating factor for the economic growth of their entertainment industry.