Nollywood is a

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject of several controversies.

Etymology

The origin of the term "Nollywood" remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in ''

the New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', where it was used to describe

Nigerian cinema The cinema of Nigeria, often referred to informally as Nollywood, consists of films produced in Nigeria; its history dates back to as early as the late 19th century and into the colonial era in the early 20th century. The history and develo ...

. Charles Igwe noted that

Norimitsu Onishi is a Japanese Canadian journalist. He is a Paris correspondent for the ''New York Times'', after holding the position as Bureau Chief in Johannesburg, Jakarta, Tokyo and Abidjan. He was a member of ''The New York Times'' reporting team that r ...

also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for ''the New York Times''. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsHollywood", the American major film hub. Definition of which films are considered Nollywood has always been a subject of debate. Alex Eyengho defined Nollywood as "the totality of activities taking place in the Nigerian film industry, be it in English,

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

Itsekiri The Itsekiri (also called the Isekiri, ''i Jekri'', ''Itsekri'', ''Ishekiri'', or Itsekhiri) are one of the Yoruboid subgroup of Nigeria's Niger Delta area, Delta State. The Itsekiris presently number 2.7 million people and live mainly in the ...

, Edo, Efik,

Ijaw Ijaw may refer to: *Ijaw people The Izon people or Izon Otu, otherwise known as the Ijaw people due to the historic mispronunciation of the name ''Izon'', are an ethnic group majorly found in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, with significant populatio ...

, Urhobo or any other of the over 300 Nigerian languages". He further stated that "the historical trajectory of Nollywood started since the pre and post independent

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, with the

theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

(stage) and cinematic (

celluloid Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common contemporary ...

) efforts of the likes of Chief

Hubert Ogunde Chief Hubert Adedeji Ogunde, D.Lit. (10 July 1916 – 4 April 1990) was a Nigerian actor, playwright, theatre manager, and musician who founded the first contemporary professional theatrical company in Nigeria, the African Music Research Pa ...

, Chief Amata,

Baba Sala Moses Olaiya (18 May 1936 – 7 October 2018), better known by his stage name "Baba Sala", was a Nigerian comedian, dramatist, and Actor, actor. A Yoruba people, Yoruba from Ijesha, Baba Sala, regarded as the father of modern Nigerian comedy, ...

Ade Love Adeyemi Josiah Afolayan (1940–1996) was a Nigerian actor, filmmaker, dramatist, and producer. Early life Afolayan was born in 1940 in Kwara state Nigeria, he was a film actor, director, and producer. He is the brother of actress Toyin Afola ...

, Eddie Ugbomah and a few others". Over the years the term ''Nollywood'' has also been used to refer to other affiliate film industries, whose films are usually co-produced with Nigeria and/or distributed by Nigerian companies. The term has also been used for Nigerian/African diaspora films considered to be affiliated with Nigeria or made specifically to capture the Nigerian audience. There is no clear definition on how "Nigerian" a film has to be in order to be referred to as ''Nollywood''. Some stakeholders have constantly expressed their disagreement over the term; giving reasons such as the fact that term was coined by a foreigner, as such another form of imperialism. It has also been argued that the term is an imitation of what was already in existence ( Hollywood) rather than an identity in itself, that is original and uniquely African.

Sub-industries

Nigerian cinema

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

and

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking from most of the regional industries. The Yoruba-language cinema is a sub-industry of Nollywood, with most of its practitioners in the Western region of Nigeria. The Yoruba-language cinema began as actors of various Yoruba traveling theatre groups began to take their works beyond the stage to delve into movie production using the Celluloid format, as far back as the mid-1960s. These practitioners are considered in some quarters to be the first true Nigerian filmmakers. Movies like '' Kongi's Harvest'' (1972), ''Bull Frog in The Sun'' (1971), ''Bisi, Daughter of The River'' (1977), ''Jaiyesimi'' (1980), and ''Cry Freedom'' (1981) fall into this era of a blossoming Yoruba movie industry. Practitioners like

Ola Balogun Ola Balogun (born 1 August 1945) is a Nigerian filmmaker and scriptwriter. He also ventured into the Nigerian music industry in 2001. Balogun, who has been making films for more than three decades, is part of the first generation of Nigerian film ...

, Duro Ladipo and Adeyemi Afolayan (Ade Love) played a significant role when they came out with "Ajani Ogun" in 1976. This film was one of the few huge success that helped put the Yoruba-language cinema on the map, and it was followed by other productions by

and others. One of the first blockbusters from Nigeria, came from the Yoruba language industry; a notable example is ''Mosebolatan'' (1985) by

Moses Olaiya Moses Olaiya (18 May 1936 – 7 October 2018), better known by his stage name "Baba Sala", was a Nigerian comedian, dramatist, and actor. A Yoruba from Ijesha, Baba Sala, regarded as the father of modern Nigerian comedy, alongside other dram ...

which grossed ₦107,000 (approx. 2015 ₦44.2 million) in five days of its release. The

Hausa-language cinema Hausa-language cinema, known informally as Kannywood, is the Hausa-language film industry of Northern Nigeria. It is based in Kano. Kannywood Kannywood is the sobriquet for Hausa-language cinema. It is a part of the larger Nigerian cinema, kno ...

, also known informally as ''Kannywood'', is also a sub-industry of Nollywood, mainly based in

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

. The cinema, which is the largest in

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the British Nort ...

, slowly evolved from the productions of RTV Kaduna and Radio Kaduna in the 1960s. Veterans like Dalhatu Bawa and Kasimu Yero pioneered drama productions that became popular with the Northern audience. The 1990s saw a dramatic change in the Northern Nigerian cinema, eager to attract more Hausa audience who find Bollywood movies more attractive, Kannywood; a cinematic synthesis of Indian and Hausa culture evolved and became extremely popular. ''Turmin Danya'' ("The Draw"), 1990, is usually cited as the first commercially successful Kannywood film. It was quickly followed by others like ''Gimbiya Fatima'' and ''Kiyarda Da Ni''. Sunusi Shehu of ''Tauraruwa Magazine'' created the term "Kannywood" in 1999 and it soon became the popular reference term for the industry. By 2012, over 2000 film companies were registered with the Kano State Filmmakers Association.

Nollywood USA

Nollywood USA is a broad term, that is used to refer to Nigerian films made in the diaspora. Although they are popularly called ''Nollywood USA'', these movies can be shot in any non-African country. These films are typically made by Nigerian filmmakers living in the diaspora and they are typically made for the Nigerian audience. Like the "Nollywood" term, the definition of "Nollywood USA" is vague. Nollywood USA movies typically tell Nigerian stories, and they usually star established Nollywood actors, alongside upcoming Nigerian/African actors living in the diaspora. The movies usually have their premieres in Nigeria and they also sometimes secure national theatrical release like the regular Nollywood movies.

''Nollywood at 20'' controversy

In 2012, it was announced that Nollywood would be celebrating its 20-year anniversary. This year marked the 20th year after the release of

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

movie ''

Living in Bondage ''Living in Bondage'' is a 1992/93 Nigerian two-part drama thriller film directed by Chris Obi Rapu, written by Kenneth Nnebue and Okechukwu Ogunjiofor, produced by Ogunjiofor, and sponsored by Jafac Wine. The film was shot straight-to-video, and ...

'' (1992), which arguably marked the boom in the

video film era The video film era, also known as the home video era, is a period in Nigerian cinema, typically from the late 1980s / early 1990s to mid 2010s, when Nigerian films were made using affordable video format. The video boom era emerged after the dow ...

. The anniversary was eventually celebrated in June 2013. The event was later revealed to be a decision of a segment of the industry and not a unanimously agreed event; the event was organized by Association of Movie Producers (AMP), an association consisting of producers of video films. Since announcement of the "Nollywood @ 20" event in 2012 until its celebration in 2013, the event had sparked controversies from many stakeholders; most of whom believed the industry was much older than 20 years. Since Nollywood has been a term for the entire Nigerian film industry, it was argued that ''Living in Bondage'' cannot be used to celebrate the Nigerian film industry, stating that the film wasn't, in fact, the first Nigerian video film, neither was it the first "successful" video film, much less the first Nigerian film. This controversial celebration also gave rise to reports that another segment of the industry, the "Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTP)" are planning to rename the industry into another term which would encompass the entire history of Nigerian film industry, since the term Nollywood has allegedly become ethnically dichotomized. While it was argued by supporters of the event that it was the "Nollywood brand" that was being celebrated and not the industry, counter-arguments were made that the term "Nollywood" came into existence only in the 2000s, so explanations were needed on how the "Nollywood Brand" could be extended to the year 1992 which isn't specifically significant in any way, and why not just to the very first Nigerian film that was made. Alex Eyengho had noted in a 2012 article that the term "Nollywood" was absent during the formative years of both the

and the

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

. Seun Apara, in his article on ''360Nobs.com'' stated: "It's either the promoters of the event didn't do their research well or intentionally do not want to reckon with history". Adegboyega Oyeniya comments: "I don't know what they are talking about by celebrating 'Nollywood @ 20'; are they celebrating Ramsey Tokunbo Nouah or

Genevieve Nnaji Genevieve Nnaji (; born on 3 May 1979) is a Nigerian actress, producer, and director. She won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2005, making her the first actor to win the award. In 2011, she was honoured as a ...

? Probably, they are celebrating fortune. These people should stop deceiving Nigerians". Some media outlets also reported that the event was a result of greed and selfish interests, as the organizers visited political figures to solicit funds in the name of the Industry, but allegedly shared the funds raised amongst themselves. Another issue raised to fault the event is that the real "achievers" in Nollywood were not honoured, but rather the practitioners at almost the same level with the organizers of the supposed flawed event were honoured. Several filmmakers and stakeholders expressed their displeasure with the supposed false celebration;

Kunle Afolayan Kunle Afolayan (born 30 September 1975) is a Nigerian actor, producer and director. He is widely credited for elevating the quality of Nollywood movies though larger budgets, shooting on 35mm, releasing in cinemas, and improving cliché Nollyw ...

commented: "The whole idea of ''Nollywood at 20'' does not make sense to me because the Nollywood that I know is more than 20 years. I remember my father shot a film about 37 years ago and I also grew up in the industry. As far as am concerned, it's absolute crap". In another interview, he stated: "If Nollywood is the name that people decide to call the movie industry in Nigeria, then I am part of it. If Nollywood is what they say is 20 years, then I am not part of that Nollywood because I have been doing film business for more than 30 years now".

Jide Kosoko Jide Kosoko (born 12 January 1954) is a Nigerian actor, director and producer. He was born into a royal family, hence his traditional title of prince or "omoba" in the Yoruba language. Early life Prince Jide Kosoko was born in Lagos on the ...

also commented: "The Nigerian movie industry as far as I'm concerned is not 20 years. If we all truly belong to the same industry, then the industry I belong to is not 20 years. There is a need to tell the world the sincere story of our industry and don't rubbish the pioneers. As far as I am concerned, what they are celebrating is ''Living in Bondage'' and not Nollywood".

Tunde Kelani Tunde Kelani (born 26 February 1948), popularly known as TK, is a Nigerian filmmaker. In a career spanning more than four decades, TK specialises in producing movies that promote Nigeria's rich cultural heritage and have a root in documentation ...

stated: "how will Nollywood be celebrating 20 years and I am over 40 years in the industry?". President of

Actors Guild of Nigeria The Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) is an umbrella union that regulates and represents the affairs of film actors in Nigeria and abroad. The corporate headquarter is located at Suite 29, Block 2, N.C.A.C, Artiste Village, National Theatre, Iganmu - ...

at the time, Ibinabo Fiberesima, admitted that Nollywood is more than 20, but gave what was considered an unconvincing statement on the reason behind the event, stating: "It's about celebrating our own even though Nollywood is more than 20 years. It's been long that people have been celebrating us but right now, we are celebrating ourselves and giving lots back to the society. It's a good step we have taken especially now that the qualities of our movies have improved".

References

External links

Nollywood : Nigeria's Prolific Film Industry : The Hollywood of Africa
{{Nigeria topics Cinema of Nigeria Film production districts