The film shone a spotlight on the representation of black people and women.
© 2022 Marvel
There’s a big difference between how Hollywood audiences view Black Panther and how African audiences do.
A scene from the award-winning film Mami Wata directed by CJ Obasi.
Screengrab/Mami Wata/Oge Obasi
Increasingly slick films attracting big budgets are major features of Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry.
The Nigerian hit film tackles social issues through an action plot.
Screengrab/Anakle Films/Netflix/YouTube
High action and outspoken politics meet digital-first thinking and a global hit is made.
Nakhane (front) stars in Inxeba (The Wound), a South African film about gay love at an initiation school.
Inxeba/Urucu Media
Despite harsh laws, a growing number of African countries are representing queer life in their cinema.
Jagun Jagun/Netflix
A new Nigerian movie, Jagun Jagun, adds to the growing number of recent films of major cultural prestige eulogising heritage in war, bravery, and royalty.
The digital era contributed immensely to the growth of Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, recently signed the copyright law. Its provisions will be beneficial only if it is well implemented.
Odunlade Adekola stars in Elesin Oba, The King’s Horseman.
EbonyLife Media/Toronto International Film Festival/Netflix
Elesin Oba, The King’s Horseman, is a film of a play by author and activist Wole Soyinka. It premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Filmmaker Biyi Bandele (left) directing the TV series Shuga in 2015. He was also a theatre maker and novelist.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
From Blood Sisters to Half of a Yellow Sun, he was loved for his TV series and films as well as his novel Burma Boy.
The new thriller Blood Sisters puts women at the centre.
Photo courtesy Netflix
Blood Sisters is untypical of Nollywood’s normal fair in a number of ways. It chooses thrill over romance and challenges taboos.
Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva at the 2014 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.
Ameyaw Debrah/Wikimedia Commons
As ill health besets the Nigerian film and theatre legend, a tribute is in order. In his career he has always placed his country and industry first.
Nigerian actors Ramsey Nouah, Rita Dominic and Chidi Mokeme attend attend a movie premiere in Canada.
Sam Santos/Getty Images
Nigerian filmmakers are looking at the past and remaking old Nollywood classics for a new generation.
Director Kunle Afolayan and actress Genevieve Nnaji discuss the international rise of Nollywood at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.
Tara Ziemba/Getty Images
As the Nigerian film industry advances its methods, is it in danger of alienating its poorer audiences?
Detail from a poster for the romantic comedy Happiness is a Four-Letter Word.
© Junaid Ahmed/Happiness is a Four-Letter Word
The rise of the black romantic comedy in South Africa dovetailed perfectly with the advent of streaming services - creating a box office phenomenon.
Nigerian director Kunle Afolayan speaks with passengers aboard a flight during the premiere of his film, The CEO.
Florian Placheur/AFP/Getty
In Lagos, cinema audiences don’t go to the movies for the film alone. There’s more.
Director Kunle Afolayan, actress/singer Genevieve Nnaji and moderator Wendy Mitchell discuss the international rise of Nollywood at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.
Tara Ziemba/Getty Images)
Viewing Nigerian movies is seen as a trip down memory lane, a virtual journey back home and group therapy for Africans in the diaspora.
Back row (From L-R): Banky W, Ted Sarandos (Netflix Chief Content Officer), Kate Henshaw, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Felipe Tewes (Netflix Italian & African Originals Director), Omoni Oboli, Ben Amadasun (Netflix Africa Licensing Director) and Akin Omotoso
Front Row (L-R) Mo Abudu, Adesua Etomi, Dorothy Ghettuba (Netflix African Originals lead) , Kunle Afolayan, Kemi Adetiba and Ramsey Noah.
For Nollywood to fully compete at the global level, it should adopt a smart, proactive approach.
The entrance to Fespaco’s main venue, Cinema Burkina.
Pier Paolo Frassinelli
Fespaco, Africa’s premier film festival, celebrated its 50th anniversary in Burkina Faso. For African cinema to survive, it must adapt to today’s audiences and forms of distraction.
French president Emmanuel Macron with Nollywood artists during a live show in Lagos, Nigeria.
EPA-EFE/Ludovic Marin
One of the most potent promoters of Nigeria’s cultural soft power is arguably Nollywood.
Nigerian actress, Genevieve Nnaji in her film, ‘Lionheart’.
Netflix
Big investors seem to be mainly interested in Nollywood’s already established popularity with African audiences.
Nigeria’s Nollywood ranks second to India’s Bollywood in terms of films produced each year.
Reuters
The world’s third-largest movie industry in Nigeria is in danger of collapse. It is not to do with patrons staying away from the films. It is caused by a menace right in the heart of the industry.