Title: Nollywood.... the NY Times tells only part of the story...
Having
written one of those NY Times stories, I'd like to respond. First, to coin the
term "Nollywood" (which I did not use; that was the other story) does not imply
that the production and distribution system in Nigeria is the same as that
of Hollywood; Bollywood, after all, also has a different production and
distribution system from Hollywood, and in any case the Hollywood system is
itself in a state of flux, and scarcely resembles the classic studio system
of the '40s. But it is legitimate to use the shorthand term; one does these
things in order to make the subject accessible or appealing to the American
reader. That said, one of the difficulties in writing about the Nigerian scene
was the incredible fluidity of the production and distribution system, which
would make it very difficult to grasp in a year of research, let alone a month
or 2 weeks, and even harder to describe in 1200 words. However, it is my
understanding that historically, the industry originated in Idumota market, and
that the most powerful figures remain the marketers who are anchored there,
though they attempt to extend their reach to Enugu and Onisha, with
little success. One of the difficulties described to me by these marketers was
their inability to exert control over their product outside of the few markets
where they have a foothold; beyond those markets, their product is freely
pirated. Another difficulty, also arising from the fluid and freewheeling nature
of the business in Nigeria, is the risk of overproduction and dilution of
quality, which led to the 4-month production moratorium earlier this year. It
seemed clear that the extremely freewheeling nature of the business was
precisely what was holding it back at that moment, and that the industry's
efforts were being exerted towards consolidation. That point of view was
reiterated to me over and over by guild members and directors in Lagos. (Though
the couple of producers operating outside of the Lagos home
movie "scene" whom I encountered, and who did not join in the strike, did
not agree.) So a comparison to the fast-and-loose early days of the film
industry in the US did not seem out of order.
I
wrote about two locations in my piece: Surulere, and Idumota market. The Idumota
section was cut due to lack of space, and the focus on Surulere was picked up by
Norimitsu Onishi in his piece. Such is life. I came to Lagos via taxi, not
plane, so proximity to the airport was not an issue. I do, however, feel a deep
and abiding sense of shame over having misspelled the name of Wini's
Guesthouse.
I
would love to hear more from Mr. McCall about how the industry works in
Enugu.
Matt
Steinglass
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
B.P. 12462
Lomé,
Togo
+228 221.86.46 tel
+228 901.64.49 cel
Dear
friends:
I just got this email
from John McCall who has done a lot of research in Nigeria …
It presents a much
fuller picture of what is happening there. (Thanks
John!)
More comments are
welcome!
Cheers, Steve Smith,
moderator, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The whole "Nollywood"
construct is a journalistic creation. The various
reporters (mostly from
the New York Times) try to locate the "studios"
in Surulere-- a Lagos
suburb. They are particularly fascinated with
Wini's Guesthouse, a
popular hangout for movie industry types in
Surulere. In fact,
Surulere is mainly a location for production offices,
editing labs, and
distribution houses. There are no "studios" in the
Hollywood sense of the
word. In looking for the quick parallels to
Hollywood the reporters
miss what's really interesting.... that the
Nigerian industry
operates on a production/distribution paradigm very
different from that of
Hollywood. Most of the casting, and shooting
actually takes place in
other parts of the country, particularly the
east. I spent a month
in Enugu where there were always six or seven
movies being shot at
any given time. But Surulere is just a half hour
taxi ride from the
international airport and Enugu is a bit trickier to get to so the
reporters who get their
story quickly and fly home haven't really seen
the industry in action.
There is a group of German television
journalists who are
planning to go to Enugu in October. They may get a
more complete
story.
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