2018 was a great year for Nollywood and we were all pleased by the new developments. Genevieve Nnaji made a record-breaking movie. Hakeem Kassim was in Nigeria to help train a rising group of filmmakers. John Boyega plans to position the Nigerian film industry for global success. Also, we were all pleased with the likes of Faraday Okoro and Uche Agu.
Some of the good news that came out of 2018 are long term projects, that will come to fruition in the coming years. Let’s recount some of the best things that happened to Nollywood in 2018, and have a look at how this will propel Nollywood into 2019.
Film Studio Coming
This may be the most exciting news of last year. In March of 2018, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce confirmed his plans to build the first ever Nollywood film studio in Lagos. The project seems to be getting somewhere already. 100 hectares of land in the Lekki area of Lagos have been acquired for this purpose. The senator is collaborating with a French company. It may take a while, but an actual film studio will make Nigeria a location for producing Hollywood standard movies soon.
The Lionheart Effect Was Big in Nollywood in 2018
The first movie directed by Genevieve Nnaji was acquired by Netflix. It is the first Nigerian Netflix original and that is a milestone for the Nigerian movie industry. This comes as a challenge to filmmakers in Nigeria to make films with better quality. More filmmakers in Nigeria we believe will make movies in the same standard henceforth. The effect of the purchase further led to Netflix stating that they will invest 8 billion dollars in Nollywood. Now that’s something to look forward to!
Film Schools Coming
The French embassy in Nigeria is collaborating with two other embassies to set up film schools in the country. The French Ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gauer, gave an insight into the new film schools coming. He made this information known at the 2018 Francophone Festival. This is a big improvement in the entertainment sector and something to look forward to for filmmaking aspirants and Nigerians alike.
AMAA 2018
At the AMAA 2018, which Harry Smith attended, he discussed the distribution of Nollywood movies through his company Smith Global Media. Harry Smith is the younger brother to popular actor Will Smith. Having the right distribution for movies made in Nollywood can have major benefits to the whole industry.
