Entertainment
Nollywood Traces Rise of Nigerian Films
While Americans sweat the fate of independent film at places like Sundance or South by Southwest, movie-mad Nigerians flock to the outdoor electronic markets of Lagos to buy the latest offerings from Nollywood.
Inaugurated in 1992 with “Living in Bondage,” an exploitation number about witchcraft and social climbing distributed on VHS, the contemporary Nigerian film industry is one of the world’s largest, according to “Nollywood Babylon,” a documentary by Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal.
The film profiles the explosive success of this truly populist cinema. The filmmakers provide a cursory survey of the evolution of Nigerian cinema — from colonial origins and decline during the economic hardships of the 1970s and ’80s to its resurrection as a D.I.Y. video phenomenon — before focusing on the contemporary scene.
We follow Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, a 37-year-old director at work on his 157th feature (take that, Fassbinder!) and learn of the stories and themes, characteristic of Nollywood movies, that propel his success: cautionary tales, rags-to-riches narratives, broad comedies and dramatic thrillers full of sex, money, religion and violence.
The documentary concludes with a provocative, if shallow, examination of the impact of evangelical Christianity on Nigerian movies. The exploitation and wish-fulfillment ethos of Nollywood, Addelman and Mallal also imply, has a narcotic function on the culture, arresting its development from “tradition to modernity.”
Such questions call for a deeper, more rigorous treatment than they are given here, though, for all its limitations, “Nollywood Babylon” serves as an intriguing primer.
R&B star, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has recounted the early-career challenges she faced, revealing that she was once booed out of the stage while performing at a school event.
Speaking in an interview with Newsmen, the Crazy Tings crooner shared that she wasn’t only booed but was also harassed with plastic bottles.
“I remember one time I was going to perform at my school as an up-and-coming singer and I thought I was going to receiving a standing ovation.
“But I got booed. They even threw plastic bottles at me,” she recalled.
Tems explained that despite the embarrassing incident and other such rejections, she remained determined to pursue a career in music.
The Tide Entertainment reports that Tems admitted that some of the initial rejections she faced could be due to her conviction to stick to her originality instead of doing covers or familiar sounds like most of her peers.
The Grammy-winning singer said looking back now, she is glad that she didn’t compromise her style despite the initial pressures.
A close associate of late singer Mohbad, Primeboy, has appealed for the artiste’s burial nearly three years after his death.
According to him, Mohbad’s body remains in the mortuary since September 12, 2023, pending burial arrangements.
The Tide Entertainment reports that in a statement Primeboy urged the family, public, and government to permit the burial, stating, “It’s been almost three years since Mohbad left us. His body is still in the mortuary. I’m begging the family, I’m begging the public, I’m begging the government, please let’s bury our brother. He deserves a befitting burial.”
It would be recalled that Mohbad’s death sparked public outrage, protests, and investigations. Ongoing autopsy examinations, police inquiries, and legal proceedings have delayed burial arrangements amid family disagreements and public scrutiny.
Nancy Briggs
