THE LOCAL & FLY

Since after the huge success of “Black Panther”, positive effects on the African movie industries have already been observed. It is believed that the success of “Black Panther” will translate to more black stories being told and more TV shows with African stories. What does the future hold for the African and Nigerian movie industry?

The Dahomey Warriors, a story about the 19th century all female African fighters, might be the next African story to be told. Sony TV pictures will collaborate with EbonyLife TV in Nigeria to produce a TV series revolving around this story. This could mean that Hollywood is ready to tell African stories, as British-Nigerian actor John Boyega recently commented to CNN. Another explanation is that they may simply be adjusting their stories to accommodate more African made actors.  

African Stories as Told by Africans

Hollywood has for long been making and selling African stories. Africans should be the ones doing that – and in their own way, rather than the Hollywood way. African life has for the most part been shown by the work of white, western filmmakers. Some of these works have often depicted blacks in less positive ways.

While the cinema of Africa is a divided entity, big Hollywood studios are eager to capture a larger portion of the quickly growing African market. So, we can be very sure more and more African stories will emerge from Hollywood and will be told the Hollywood way. This could however also have negative implications:

• The real story is clouded by Hollywood style and special effects
• The African and Nigerian movie industry will lose market shares within their home markets

With Hollywood culture influencing film industries in Africa, including Nollywood, it may become hard to tell what stories are truly African. Their stories should be told by the African movie industries rather than Hollywood, as is the opinion of many. Signing a deal with Genevieve Nnaji is a classic move, and we are hoping she will get to play roles that present her as a Nigerian and African rather than an American. We are hoping she will be there to represent Nigeria and Africa.

• Linda Ikeji to the Rescue Again, as Another Nigerian Story The Night of June 7th Goes on Screen
• 1,500 Couples Supported Through Mass Wedding Programme in Nigerian State
• ‘For Halima’s Sake’ Uses Theatre to Confront Injustice, Insecurity and Abuse of Power in Nigeria

Hollywood and Nollywood Join Forces

Bringing Nollywood actors to Hollywood movies does of course also have its upsides. We expect to see an increasing number of movies with outstanding lineups of both African made actors and American actors. M’baku’s accent in the widely acclaimed “Black Panther” is commendable for someone who is not Igbo. What would have been a beautiful combo of Hollywood and Nollywood, is having an actual Igbo person play that role. Signing Genevieve Nnaji, and hopefully, more Nigerians will make it easier to incorporate such characters without the actors having to learn a new accent. Star Wars actor of Nigerian/British decent John Boyega claims that Hollywood wants to produce more African stories. ”Because of the success of Black Panther, now Hollywood wants African stories and I think Nigeria is at the forefront of that”.

John Boyega’s big ambition for Nollywood includes training local Nigerian talent in all aspects of film making. This is why he founded his production company Upper Room Entertainment in 2015. He hopes he can serve as a bridge between Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry and Hollywood. If Hollywood and Nollywood join forces it can help spread the genuine and important Nigerian stories to the rest of the world.