| Hausa-language cinema industry of Northern Nigeria | |
|---|---|
| No. of screens | 150 (2009) [1] |
| • Per capita | ??? |
| Produced feature films (2011) | |
| Fictional | 1000 |
| Number of admissions | |
| Total | 500,000 |
| Culture of Northern Nigeria |
|---|
 |
| History |
Hausa-language cinema, known informally as Kannywood, is the Hausa-language film industry of northern Nigeria. It is based in Kano.
Kannywood is the sobriquet for Hausa-language cinema. It is a part of the larger Nigerian cinema, known as Nollywood, which includes other production centres producing films in many other Nigerian languages. The name "Kannywood" is a portmanteau derived from the city name of Kano and Hollywood, the center of the American film industry. "Kannywood" was coined in 1999 by Sunusi Shehu Daneji, publisher of Tauraruwa ("Star") Magazine to capture the growing Hausa video film scene from which point it became the popular reference term for the film industry of Northern Nigeria. [2] The term preceded the label Nollywood which originated with New York Times journalist Norimitsu Onishi in 2001 in referencing the Lagos-based film industry. [3]
The Hausa language cinema slowly evolved from the productions of RTV Kaduna and Radio Kaduna in the 1960s. Veterans like Dalhatu Bawa and Kasimu Yero pioneered drama productions that became popular with the Northern audience.
In the 70's and 80's, Usman Baba Pategi and Mamman Ladan introduced the Hausa Comedy to the Northern audience.
The 1990s saw a dramatic change in the Hausa language cinema, eager to attract more Hausa audience who find Bollywood movies more attractive, Kannywood; a cinematic synthesis of Indian and Hausa culture evolved and became extremely popular. Turmin Danya ("The Draw"), 1990, is usually cited as the first commercially successful Kannywood film. It was quickly followed by others like Gimbiya Fatima In Da So Da Kauna, Munkar, Badakala and Kiyarda Da Ni. New actors like Ibrahim Mandawari and Hauwa Ali Dodo became popular and set the stage for the emergence of super-star like female actresses later on.
By 2012, over 2000 film companies were registered with the Kano State Filmmakers Association. [4]
A local censoring committee created by Kanywood Producers and Marketers was converted into a board and named Kano State Censorship Board in 2001 by Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. Mr. Dahiru Beli was appointed the first Executive Secretary of the board.
Songwriters and singers who produce or perform music in Hausa films include Nazifi Asnanic, [5] [6] Naziru M Ahmad, [7] Ali Jita, [8] [9] and Fati Nijar. [10] [11] Umar M Sharif , [12]
In 2003, with the rise of the Izala and the coming to power of Ibrahim Shekarau, the then ultra-religious government of Kano initiated an iconoclastic campaign against Kannywood. Numerous movies deemed irreligious were censored and some film makers were jailed. This reversed some of the gains Kannywood had made and allowed the Southern Nigerian film industry to supersede it.
In 2007, the Hiyana Affair: when the sex tape of a popular actress became public led to a severe backlash from the then Islamist government of Kano State under Ibrahim Shekarau. Shekarau went on to appoint a Director General for the censorship board, Abubakar Rabo Abdulkareem with the support of the Izala Society and other Islamist organisations, Kannywood and the equally popular Hausa romantic novel industry were severely censored, actors, actresses and writers were jailed by the state government and books and other media materials were burnt by the Governor himself. [13] In 2011 the replacement of the Islamist government by a much more liberal government led by the PDP led to a more favourable atmosphere for the industry. In 2019, following the re-election of governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as governor of Kano State, a new spate of arrests of musicians and filmmakers was launched by the Censorship Board under its Executive Secretary, Isma'il Na'abba Afakallahu. A movie director, Sunusi Oscar, and a musician, Naziru M. Ahmad, were arrested and taken to court over accusations that they released songs without the permission of the censor. The duo were released on bail. [14] The opposition Kwankwasiyya Movement stated that the arrests were politically motivated because the accused persons were considered as sympathizers of the Peoples Democratic Party in the last general election. [15]
Ali Nuhu Mohammed is married to Mainuna Garba in 2003 and they had 2 children. He is a Nigerian actor who is the current managing director of the Nigerian Film Corporation. He was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday 12 January 2024. Before his appointment, he was a prominent Nigerian actor and director. He acts in both Hausa and English movies, and he is also known as king of Kannywood or Sarki Ali by the media; Kannywood is the Hausa film industry headquartered in Kano, Nigeria. Ali Nuhu has appeared in more than 500 Nollywood and Kannywood films, and earned numerous accolades. Ali Nuhu is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors of all time in the history of Hausa Cinema, as well as Nigerian Cinema In terms of audience, size, and income, and he has been described as the most successful Hausa film star in the world. President Bola Tinubu has appointed him as the Managing-Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation.
Hadiza Aliyu, also known as Hadiza Gabon, is a Nigerian professional actress and filmmaker who acts in both Hausa and English movies. Hadiza serves as an ambassador for MTN Nigeria and Indomie noodles company. Hadiza was named best actress at 2013 Best of Nollywood Awards. She has also won the 2nd Kannywood/MTN Awards in the year 2014. She presently serves as the founder of HAG Foundation.
Nollywood, a portmanteau of Nigeria and Hollywood, is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject of several controversies.
Rahama Ibrahim Sadau is a Nigerian actress, filmmaker, and singer. Born and raised in Kaduna, she performed in dancing competitions as a child and during her school years. She rose to fame in late 2013 after joining the Kannywood movie industry with her first movie Gani ga Wane.
Aminu Muhammad Ahmad, also known as Aminu Saira is a Nigerian filmmaker, director, and story writer. He is regarded as a pioneer revolutionist of today's Kannywood.
Sani Musa Abdullahi, known as Sani DanjaorDanja, is a Nigerian film actor, producer, director, singer, and dancer. He participates in both Kannywood and Nollywood. In April 2018 he was turbaned by the Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubaka, as Zakin Arewa.
Yakubu Mohammed is a Nigerian actor, producer, director, singer and script writer. He is a Globacom ambassador, SDGs ambassador and at a time, an ambassador for Nescafe Beverage. Yakubu Mohammed is a seasoned actor of repute and a household name in both Kannywood and Nollywood. He has sung over 1000 songs, featured in well over 100 Hausa films and more than 40 English films some of which includes; Lionheart, 4th Republic, Sons of the Caliphate and MTV Shuga which earned him several nominations and awards such as City People Entertainment Awards and Nigeria Entertainment Awards.
Nazifi Abdulsalam Yusuf better known as his stage name Nazifi Asnanic is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, director, and producer. He was born and raised in the ancient city of Kano. Nazifi Asnanic, often referred to as the Golden Voice, is recognized as one of the most successful Hausa artists of all time in the history of Kannywood. He has received numbers of awards and nominations including City People Entertainment Awards as the best musician in 2014. He was also among the Kannywood stars that received an award by Zamfara State government of Nigeria for their tremendous effort and contribution toward uniting and sustaining Hausa culture. Nazifi Asnanic has featured, produced, and directed numbers of film in Kannywood.
Naziru M Ahmad also known as Sarkin Waka is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Naziru was turbaned as Sarkin Wakan Sarkin Kano in December 2018.
Sadiq Sani Sadiq is a Nigerian film actor. In 2012, he appeared in Blood and Henna, a Nigerian film directed by Kenneth Gyang, along with Nafisat Abdullahi and Ali Nuhu. He has received awards and nominations including 2015 Kannywood Awards in jurors award category organized by MTN Nigeria. He was also awarded by the City People Entertainment award in 2014 and 2017. He is married with two children.
Ali Isah Jita, simply known as Ali Jita. is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and musician.
Sadiq Usman Saleh also known as Sadiq Zazzabi is a Nigerian Hausa language singer, and songwriter. He became popular with his hit song Yanzu Abuja Tayi Tsaf. He won the first position award at Ga Fili Ga Mai Doki organized by Bayero University Kano.
Falalu Abubakar Dorayi also known as Falalu A. Dorayi is a Nigerian film director, producer, screenwriter and film actor.
Fati Muhammad is one of the famous and pioneer actress of Hausa film in the Northern Nigerian film industry popularly known as Kannywood. She is regarded as one of the successful Hausa Actresses in the early 2000s. She in 2001 was contracted by Society for Family Health (SFH) and produce a massive sensitization campaign against causes and managing HIV/AIDS. She was sponsored to United Kingdom until left voluntarily after 6 years and went back to Nigeria.
The 2007 Kano State gubernatorial election occurred on April 14, 2007. ANPP candidate Ibrahim Shekarau won the election, defeating PDP Ahmed Bichi and 14 other candidates.
Binta Labaran is a Nigerien singer and actress who has earned the title "Gimbiyar Mawakan Hausa". She was born and bought up in Maradi, Niger where she had her Quranic education before moving to Nigeria to pursue her singing career. Fati Niger has produced 4 albums with over 500 songs to her credit. She is from the Hausa ethnic group.
Jamila Umar Nagudu is a Nigerian actress working in Kannywood.
Umar Sani Labaran, also known as Umar Gombe is a Nigerian actor, filmmaker, and director who has appeared in over a hundred movies as well as a number of television and comedy shows. Gombe is the first program manager for Northflix, a Hausa movie streaming app. He has appeared in films, television shows, radio shows, and comedy shows. He has been nominated for best supporting actor several times and has won several other awards.
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