Adekunle Nodash Adejuyigbe, the director of the 2019 thriller, “The Delivery Boy” says Nigerian film industry needs to rebrand to keep up with expectations of its audience
He said despite being the second largest movie industry in the world in terms of film out put ahead of Hollywood, Nollywood has faced relentless criticism for its largely unambitious story telling and average production quality.
Speaking after the special screening of his directorial debut at the Alliance Francais ,Mile Adenuga Center in Lagos on Sunday February 9,2020,Nodash called Nollywood a miracle.
He stated that the industry has been built into second largest in the world by a bunch of people with no resources, you have got to respect that no matter what you think of the content.
He also noted that home videos will need to keep existing because there is a market for themim in every country around the world.However, he said the industry must also produce tons of a different kind of content that will change the minds of people about its value.
He said now there are about 2000 films being made every year in Nigeria and most of them are home videos, the films that are a little more cinematic in their approach I don’t think they are up to 10 every year, he said.
Nodash: Meanwhile, Delivery Boy has screened at the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF).It was gathered that PAFF held from February 12 to 23,2020 in the United State of America’s largest gathering of black film makers, audience’s and other stake holders from around the world.
The firm’ s director, Adekunle Nodash Adejuiyigbe represented Nigeria at the festival where the film was screened multiple times and earned rave reviews.
Delivery Boy is the story of a runaway teenage suicide bomber (Jamail Ibrahim) and his new found ally, a young prostitute(Jemima Osunde)who must rely on each other to survive the night.
The search for answers to the situation that made them who they are, they are both runway out of time and soon realize they need each other to achieve their goals.
Their journey takes them through the under belly of the city exposing the hidden backside of the African society and its dangerous culture of silence in the presence of evil. According to reports, the Delivery Boy snagged the Best Achievement in Visual Effects Awards at the 2019 African Movie Academy Awards(AMAA).
The film has screened around the world on various festivals including the 25th New York African Film festival,Lights, Camera, Action film festival and Nollywood Week Paris.
The Delivery Boy also screened at Jagran International film festival, Lake International film festival, Lake Pan African film festival and won Best Nigerian film at the 2018 AFRIFF Globe awards.
The film also received accolades as part of the films that represented Nigeria cinema at the Carthage film festival Tunisia in 2019.