By Benjamin Njoku
If what happened last year and the previous years is anything to reckon with, then the motion picture industry, otherwise known as Nollywood, is surely on the right track to redefine the entertainment industry in Nigeria.
However, while the ovation is loud, industry watchers posit that there’s  need for practitioners to return to base as a way of consolidating on the gains of the previous years and charting a new direction for the industry in this new season.

For the fact that the advent of home video culture in the early 90s, seemed to have quickened the extinction of live theatre as well as the cinema culture in the country, the renewed efforts by some committed industry operators to raise the bar and rescue the industry from the stranglehold of mediocrity by returning to the cinema cannot be ignored.

Before the revolution, the industry was seen as a business venture powered by the Idumota and Onitsha based businessmen, whose interest was to amass profit and never to place value on professionalism, as they threw caution to the wind, doing everything possible to submerge the growth of the industry.

Then, the purposeful standard raised by the early  movie producers and thespians like Hubert Ogunde disappeared on our screen.

What became the bargain of movie bluffs was a replacement of a display of violence, inordinate storylines and over-advertised and unrealistic ritual practices that portrayed the nation as a haven of witches for the greater part of 90s and early 2000.

Nollywood, apart from being made on shoestring budgets ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 a piece, spanning seven to ten days, were devoid of showing firstly in the cinemas ever before going to the public domain.

Produced and filmed straight on VHS cassettes, and later on VCD, without premiers,  the movies were released and consequently distributed for sale to the public randomly and without proper regulatory system in place.

Though, recent movies indicate a slight shift from the videos of obscenity to family and societal cherished  films, the fact still remains that there is a sharp contrast between what obtained during the days of Hubert Ogunde and the present day movie culture.

Industry watchers believe that for the practitioners to consolidate on the gains of the previous years, efforts need to be made to establish a link between the past and the present, by taking the movies back to the cinema as it was the case.

It was recorded that for about 40 years after the play ‘King Eiejigbo’, written by D. O. Oyedele (in 1904), there was no notable development, in the Nigerian Theatre/ home video culture, until Hubert Ogunde came to the scene in 1944.
Ogunde, who wrote both in English and in Yoruba, more than any one else, created the awareness of the modem theatre tradition in Nigeria, operating a travelling theatre company, and taking his plays to various parts of the country, via cinemas and also to other West African countries, particularly Ghana and Sierra Leone, for about 40 years. We need to return to this tradition.

Already, some  practitioners are bracing up to return to the old tradition. Stephanie Okereke’s award winning movie, “Through the Glass”, which gross N10m in two weeks after it premiered at the Silverbird Galleria, Lagos, in September, is a case in point.

The movie, still in the cinema, also premiered in America, where it was shot and parades Hollywood stars, and others from Ghana and Kenya. Having gained international acclamation, it has turned out to become the monster hit that put Nigeria on the world map of movies, followed by Vivian Ejike’s ‘Silent Scandals” which premiered recently in Nigeria, and Silverbird cinemas in Ghana.

Other recent  movies which identified with this tradition included, Emem Isong’s Guilty Pleasures and Nollywood Hustlers, which premiered the same day, at Silverbird cinemas and jointly produced with the duo of Desmond Elliot and Uche Jombo. Mahmood Ali-Balogun’s big budget movie “Tango with Me” raised the bar last year  in Nollywood.

Most Nigerian movies are screened at international film festivals and are winning laurels.For the first time, Irapada, a Nigerian movie, was accepted at the British film festival.

However, before the coming of these movies, the likes of Kingsley Ogoro, veteran producer Zeb Ejiro and many others had blazed the trail producing monster hit, which made waves in the box office before hitting the market.

Ogoro’s “Across the Niger” movie, which many described as blockbuster grossed not less than over $1m in the box office. Today, many actors and actresses are becoming producers, which many described as a welcome development but however expressed  reservation that too many hands are likely to spoil the soup.

According to recent reports, “Nigeria is losing estimated $50 m yearly because of international piracy of Nigerian movies and films in America, Canada and other African countries as well as Europe, meaning that Nigerian movies are in high demand outside the shores of the nation.

Given the strides the motion picture industry has made in recent times, especially since last year, experts are of the opinion that there’s need for the nation to explore the gains of the industry as well as work out modalities to use these new resources to improve the nation’s economy.

With the high emphasis intellectual property skills is attracting in terms of recognition worldwide of Nigeria skills in Arts, Music and Film, experts have argued the obvious, insisting that the nation should brace up to the challenges of turning things around for the better by earning high income “like other knowledge, brain based economies like Japan, India, Korea, Israel, Malaysia, Brazil amongst others.”

In this new season, practitioners in the movie  industry should strive to consolidate on the gains of the previous years, as submitted by Ugo Harris Ukandu two years ago. There is the imperative need for the industry operators to learn to reach out in a highly organized form to engage the government, corporate entities and international organizations to seek grants, loans from banks to support and encourage the film industry. In as much as this effort is being made, effort should also be placed on high quality of the Nigerian movies, good story to tell about Nigeria and Africa, less emphasis on negative portrayal of our national and traditional lives.

The positive story about our villages, our culture, our towns, our elders, our youths, our schools, our government, democracy, respect of rule of law and decency should be encouraged and emphasized.

Also, while commending  the steps taken by industry operators to work out plans to work with Film makers of Nigerian based in USA(FAN USA), to organize their marketing and distribution strategy internationally in USA and Europe to cut out piracy and to repatriate their money and efforts back in the Nigerian economy. This is commendable but more need to be done.

Examples are the dubious contracts each individual film makers, marketers, actors, actress and producers are undertaking individually with dubious individuals, internationally and within Nigeria for their personal marketing and distribution rights.
And these contracts are not biding or enforceable in the international copyright laws or anywhere in the world . Such hasty contract to produce and distribute Nigeria arts and Films internationally with no money coming to them or into Nigeria, is a win-win situation for the pirates and copyright violators.

The time is now for the movie and music industry in Nigeria to come together and have a conference, workshop for days or weeks for a way forward for our new impressive industry, so that Nigeria can earn money from the sweat of her people and not to let this industry become a curse like oil, cocoa, coal and palm produce which has exposed Nigeria as a nation that does not value its people or its God given resources and talent.

Also Nollywood producers must learn to toe the line of Bollywood in terms of quality production, storyline, sustainable distribution network and exploring themes that recapture personal life.

Bollywood Model

Indian ace-producer and broadcaster, Deepak Jain, said while many film industries across the world largely depend on the government support to survive, Indian film industry thrives on private sector initiatives. This means that the level of government involvement in the running of the industry is rather minimal and not holistic. This model is recommendable for the Nigerian movie industry.

Deepak Jain believes that the impact Bollywood has made in recent times on the international scene is traceable to the distinct way the industry is fashioned to operate in India.

Jain, however, argues that while Nollywood is on the way to Bollywood, Nollywood, unlike Bollywood, has a lot of grounds to cover, in terms of storyline, good acting and quality production. “Nollywood is on the way to Bollywood.

But what makes Nollywood different from Bollywood is because of the fact that Bollywood thrives on emotions, relationships and other thrilling themes. We do action movies, documentary, emotional as well as sport movies,” he said during a recent encounter with HVP.

Jain oversees Mauritius based Zee Network offices across the countries of Africa. As a major stakeholder in Bollywood, Jain ‘s Zee Network brings Bollywood closer to people of different races and origins, including the South Asians and mainland Africans.

Outlining various ways in which Nollywood can toe the line of Bollywood in terms of improved  production quality, storyline, distribution and sustenance of the industry, Jain stressed how every movie as done in Bollywood explores one’s personal life.

“There are varieties of religions in India, cultures which are reflected in our movies. We also do movies exploring the themes of how women climb the ladder of success in their various professional endeavours. Every Bollywood movie you watch gives you enough relaxation, connects you to one’s emotion, and that’s why Bollywood is breaking grounds across the universe,” he added.

“Talking of production quality, Bollywood movies have improved over the years. We have invested a lot of time and money into assembling production facilities.  Today, when you watch Bollywood films, you will notice that the production quality has appreciated a lot, “ he added.

For Nollywood, it’s time to go international and improve on the production quality. Bollywood has not only shot many movies in Bombay, or India but also, we have gone outside the shores of India to shoot our movies. We have gone to places like USA, UK and other European countries to shoot our movies.

“The same thing could happen to Nollywood. They can come to India to shoot their movies, while we come to Nigeria for our movies. We have featured a few foreign actors in Bollywood movies, just as Hollywood has also featured a few of Bollywood actors in their movies.  Growth is exceptional in this regard, and we have to pull our forces together to work in relationship with each other.”

On the need to engage in exchange of production technique with Nollywood producers, the Zee Network African head said, “it’s always better to learn from other people’s  mistake or their breakthroughs. The storyline should be such that people have moved out of Nigeria to experience a different kind of life outside their locality.

“Let’s learn to educate the populace by means of the screen. Nollywood, coming new on the block, can learn from Bollywood’s production technique. And because we have some similarities in our cultures and lifestyle, there’s a lot that we can learn from each other.”

However, according to Jain, Bollywood is private sector driven, and does not enjoy the  government’s  participation.  Hear him:  “Bollywood is a business venture. People invest their money to run the industry. The success Bollywood has recorded in recent times is not because of political infusion of funds into the industry but the fact that the government create enabling environment for the industry to thrive.

“They support every project embarked upon by Indian film makers. For instance, if Indian film makers are coming to Nigeria to shoot a film, our government will write to the Nigerian government, officially soliciting the Nigerian  government to give the film makers every assistance they would require to make their mission a success. My government does not fund the film industry, but they only do the ground work for us.”

Distribution of films in Bollywood
“Everything is commercially oriented in Bollywood. Distributors carry out a kind of feasibility study about a particular movie- what the budget will be like, the cast, and the storyline as well as the duration of the movie. As a result, some of the funds needed to make a film in India are provided by the distributors. Every distributor invests  his or her money in the making of a particular movie, hoping to partake in the sharing of the profits equally when the movie becomes a hit.
“In terms of distribution network, if the government is allowed to get involved in it, then, there ‘s a problem. We have a regulatory  body like the censors’ board as well.

But it’s not involved in the distribution of films in India. What the body does is to ensure that a film maker conforms to the rules of the game,  determine the age bracket in terms of watching a particular movie. Movies must be devoid of sentiments or religious bias. The board does not control the distribution channel. This is because the distributors finance the making of the movies and therefore, detect how the movie will be distributed.”

To be continued