Nollywood has evolved to become the largest movie industry in Africa, and also the third-largest in the world, owing to the large numbers of movies produced annually. It is said that over 2000 movies are produced annually. We definitely cannot talk about new Nollywood without referring to the history of Nollywood itself.
Nollywood was said to have started in the 1960s, with the help of historical filmmakers such as Ola Balogun, Herbert Ogunde, Eddie Ugboma, Jab adu, and others. Most people consider the year of founding Nollywood to be 1992 when Kenneth Okonkwo shot the first major Nollywood movie “Living in Bondage” with a budget of $12,000. The film sold over a million copies, and then other filmmakers realized that the power wasn’t on the budget but in the plot, and they began to make films, such as Glamour Girls, Rattlesnake, saworoide, Karashika, and many others.
New Nollywood comes as a strategy by producers/ directors to make films with heavy budgets, better quality, suitable for screening in theaters. Back in the day, the number of movies produced is not at par with the current day output of the movie industry. The new Nollywood showcases talented actors and a complex storyline.
Technology and Innovation have immensely improved the production and technical quality of movies, this improvement has boosted Nollywood’s popularity around the world, where they now feature in major film festivals and receive awards like the Africa Magic viewers choice award(AMVCA), the African Movie Academy Awards ( AMMA).
The old Nollywood had simple storylines which were very moralistic, in comparison to the new Nollywood which showcases a complex plot. We’ve seen movies like Blood sisters, King of boys, Arbitration, Citation, and several others with “beyond the normal” storylines. The epic remake of Rattlesnake, Living in Bondage, Nneka the pretty serpent which starred new Nollywood stars like Stan Nze, Osas Ighodaro, Nancy Isime, and several new stars shows a blend of the old and new Nollywood.
We can proudly beat our chest and say that if anything is working in Nigeria, Nollywood is at the top of it.
