The cinema of Nigeria, often referred to informally as Nollywood, consists of films produced in Nigeria; its history dates back to as early as the late 19th century and into the colonial era in the early 20th century. The history and development of the Nigerian motion picture industry is sometimes generally classified in four main eras: the Colonial era, Golden Age era, Video film era and the emerging New Nigerian cinema era.
Cinema of Africa covers both the history and present of the making or screening of films on the African continent, and also refers to the persons involved in this form of audiovisual culture. It dates back to the early 20th century, when film reels were the primary cinematic technology in use. As there are more than 50 countries with audiovisual traditions, there is no one single 'African cinema'. Both historically and culturally, there are major regional differences between North African and sub-Saharan cinemas, and between the cinemas of different countries.
Chico Ejiro was a Nigerian movie director, screenwriter, and producer. Little was known about Ejiro other than he was born in Isoko, Delta, Nigeria; he originally studied agriculture; and he was drawn into video production because Nigerians would not buy blank video cassettes. His enormous body of work was typical of the second generation that started in the 1990s when cheap video-production equipment became available in the country. He owned a production company called Grand Touch Pictures, which is based in Lagos.
Welcome to Nollywood is a 2007 documentary film about the Nigerian movie industry, directed by Jamie Meltzer. It premiered at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and also played at the Avignon Film Festival and the Melbourne International Film Festival in the summer of 2007.
Ben Addelman is a Canadian filmmaker. He is known for directing five documentaries: Discordia, Bombay Calling, Nollywood Babylon, Kivalina vs. Exxon, and Plastic People.
Jamie Meltzer is an American movie and documentary film director. He has made "True Conviction", "Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story", "Welcome to Nollywood", "La Caminata", and the feature-length documentary film "Informant". He teaches documentary film production in the Art Department of Stanford University, as part of the MFA Program in Documentary Film.
The Africa Movie Academy Awards, popularly known as AMAA and The AMA Awards, are presented annually to recognize excellence among professionals working in, or non-African professionals who have contributed to, the African film industry. It was founded by Peace Anyiam-Osigwe and is run through the Africa Film Academy. The awards are aimed at honouring and promoting excellence in the African movie industry as well as uniting the African continent through arts and culture.
Zina Saro-Wiwa is a Brooklyn-based video artist and filmmaker. She makes video installations, documentaries, music videos and experimental films.
Kunle Afolayan is a Nigerian actor, producer, and director. He is credited for elevating the quality of Nollywood movies through larger budgets, shooting on 35mm, releasing in cinemas, and improving cliché Nollywood storylines. After starting his film career as an actor in the 1999 political drama Saworoide, Afolayan made his directorial debut in 2006 with Irapada, a Nigerian supernatural thriller, which won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Film in an African Language. His subsequent directing credits include The Figurine, Phone Swap, October 1, and Citation.
The Figurine: Araromire is a 2009 Nigerian supernatural suspense thriller film written by Kemi Adesoye, produced and directed by Kunle Afolayan, who also stars in the film as one of the main protagonists. It also stars Ramsey Nouah and Omoni Oboli.
Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen is a Nigerian film director and film producer. Popularly known as De' Guvnor of Nollywood.
Michelle Bello is a British Nigerian film director and film producer. She is also CEO of a Nigerian-based entertainment and publishing company, Blu Star Entertainment Limited. Bello was born in London, England.
Jeta Amata is a Nigerian filmmaker, born on August 21, 1974, to popular Nigerian actor Zack Amata. He comes from a family of veteran filmmakers including Ifoghale Amata, Zack Amata and Fred Amata. Growing up in the film industry, following his family's passion for film, Jeta produced and directed his first film Glamour Boyz at the age of 21, making it no surprise when he began to rise in the world of film and entertainment.
Mahmood Ali-Balogun is a Nigerian filmmaker, cultural worker and the managing director of Brickwall Communications Limited. He directed the multiple award-winning film 'Tango With Me'. He is the Chairman of the Audio Visual Rights Society (AVRS) of Nigeria (2).
The video film era, also known as the home video era, is a period in Nigerian cinema, typically from the late 1980s / early 1990s to mid 2010s, when Nigerian films were made using affordable video format. The video boom era emerged after the downturn of the Golden era of the Nigerian cinema in the late 1980s. The term "home video" stems from the concept of staying at home to watch the films, in contrast to films of the Golden Age that were watched at the movie theatres.
Nollywood, a portmanteau of Nigeria and Hollywood, is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term goes 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.
Tope Oshin is a Nigerian television and film director, producer and casting director, listed as one of the most influential Nigerians in film in 2019. In 2015 Pulse magazine named her as one of "9 Nigerian female movie directors you should know" in the Nollywood film industry. and in March 2018, in commemoration of the Women's History Month, Tope was celebrated by OkayAfrica as one of the Okay100 Women. The interactive campaign celebrates extraordinary women from Africa and the diaspora making waves across a wide array of industries, while driving positive impact in their communities and the world at large.
Tanzania's film industry, also known as Swahiliwood or Bongo movie and Bongowood, was established around 2001.
Potato Potahto is a 2017 Ghanaian-Nigerian romantic comedy film directed and written by Shirley Frimpong Manso which tells a story of divorce in West African society and how tricky it is.
Abba T. Makama is a Nigerian writer, director, visual artist and producer. He is known for directing Green White Green and The Lost Okoroshi. He is the founder and the creative director of Osiris Film and Entertainment. His films focus on telling Nigerian stories to a global audience and illustrate how connected and similar the world is regardless of national boundaries. His work is largely inspired by dreams and Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious. His work also explores theme of classism, spirituality, tradition and in genres such as comedy, drama, mockumentary, satire and magical realism.
