You just came back into the country. Is it for a particular project?
This will elicit a funny answer. Next week, I’m burying my mum. I actually came for the burial of my mum. Basically, immediately after that, I need to rush back to London because we are having the premiere of my movie entitled: The Past Came Calling on 15 December.

After the London premiere, we’ll be showing it in The Gambia, that is the immediate thing, after this, in early February we are coming to Nigeria for the premiere and the cinema run of the movie

So, in essence, you are going to stay in the UK permanently?
It is not exactly permanently. Let’s say semi-permanently because I have lived all my life in Nigeria. At that point in time when I decided to move, I realised that there were no new challenges for me in Nigeria, it was just like I had achieved a level of comfort and though every other thing was okay but there was nothing new.

It was just to make more money and continue living in Nigeria for me, that is not what I wanted for my life, that is not even what I wanted for my children. So, when the opportunity and the challenge to travel to the UK came, I took it up, though it was quite a difficult thing for me to do then.

Let’s talk about your new film?
It is called The Past Came Calling. It is actually an offshoot of the talent hunt show that we did in the UK; the talent show was called, Class Act, which we embarked on to make some changes.

When I got to the UK, I realised that for most Africans there, they did not have the opportunity to express themselves artistically and whatever roles they were given was what we called waka pass, nothing solid.

So, we had a lot of talented people who were not expressing themselves like we have back home, when home video industry started. So, I got to London and found out that Africans were not given the kind of roles that they should be given.

And so I said okay, I felt if that is the case and we have so many people here just like when Nollywood started in Nigeria and because so many producers said that was what they wanted, I told them the only way to go about it is to take the bull by the horns, take a stand, though it might be difficult.

But I told them, do something and when they see you are doing quality production, they will come to you and at this point in time, you will not be the one going to them.

So, we went ahead and started class act, which was supposed to be a Nigerian production but we realised that there were so many non-Nigerians, who were more interested than the Nigerians themselves. We did it with different people from different countries and all that, we even had people from the Caribbean Islands.

From your experience, compare production in Nigeria and outside the shores of the country?
At the end of the day, production is production. You face the same basic problem. Okay, you might not have the problem of generator there and all others but production is production. It’s the same thing and you face basically the same challenges like somebody not showing up at the right time, this throws a spanner into the works. Okay, the slight difference there is that they are more organised; everything is more structured but the same problem there is the same problem here.

Luckily, I got a foreign crew to film my work. There is this young man from Spain, he has actually done a lot of work in the European countries, some African countries and the Caribbean too so, he was more amenable than some of the British boys I spoke with who were a bit too lazy. We clicked and we did a fantastic job.

Can you give an assessment of the Nigerian movie industry at present?
I have just come back and I have not really seen much of the production they have been doing but from the few that I know, I think that there has been a technological advancement in terms of technical equipment and they are easily accessible now. We have cameras that can do things that we could only dream of some years back.

To do that we needed to spend millions to hire or get this kind of camera but the cameras are easily accessible now so you can get fantastic high definition quality camera, have the best lenses and all of that for a fraction of what you would have spent then so that has helped the quality.

My issue is still with our story telling, our stories are not there yet, we should learn to do the kind of story that will appeal, we shouldn’t just do stories for doing sake. Look at your immediate constituency, look at your audience.

What do you think will appeal to them, if you are looking beyond that, you are looking at a foreign audience, what will the white man want to see about Africa? I don’t think he wants to see all these films we are doing.

That’s not it, do a film that will appeal internationally if you want to go international, do a film that will appeal to your local audience if you want to stay local. So I think for now, that is still the issue we are facing.

Ozokwor who arrived that country last Monday is expected to tour all the three major cities of Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu to perform live on stage.

According to the company’s Director, Joyce Chavula, the play centres mainly on love, orphanhood and child trafficking,which are true stories happening in the society.

In her words, “these are the issues which our society cannot deny, they are there in us and we want to showcase them to the public on how they affect us, both the positive and negative side.”

Ozokwor, she disclosed will be cast as a wicked woman in the play who mistreats orphans and traffic children for economic gains.

She added that the company has taken advantage of Ozokwor’s trademark of being a wicked woman in most of the films she has acted to feature her in their play.

Commenting on the movie, Ozokwor said as an artist she is ready to take any role in the play either wicked or not because she sends a message to the public.

She added that her coming to Malawi complements her program of sourcing out potentials from African countries to join Nollywood. Ozokwor is the second Nollywood star to come to Malawi after Desmond Elliot.

Source

Both agencies, equally noted that the Nigerian motion industry has demonstrated its ability to play critical role in the global economy, with its great potential as a tool for empowerment, cultural growth and international diplomacy.

Nigerian Film Corporation and Nexim Bank expressed these concerns when their Chief Executives, Mr. Afolabi Adesanya (NFC) and Mr. Roberts Orya (Nexim) met in Abuja recently. According to the two agencies, the Nigerian motion picture industry has received resounding success and has attracted acceptability globally.

Represented by Alhaji Barshir Wali, Executive Director (Management Services), Mr. Orya said that Nexim Bank in the last few years has developed the strong desire of improving businesses across the country and in particular, expanding the business frontiers of the Nigerian motion picture industry. This, he said, will cause a synergy between the Banks vision and expectations of the Nigerian people.

Earlier, Adesanya expressed appreciation and commended management of Nexim Bank for her efforts in assisting and ensuring that the Nigerian motion picture sector grows, through leveraging on local and international platforms.

The film industry, he said required urgent intervention in the areas of manpower development and sustainable funding. Adesanya told his host, that the National Film Institute (NFI) in Jos had taken the lead in the provision of training, retraining and capacity building for the sector.

Nollywood is the 3rd largest film industry in the world behind Hollywood and Bollywood. Nollywood films are made on shoe string budgets with an average movie only taking around 10 day to complete with a cost of just $15,000.
In only 30 years Nollywood has gone from zero to bring a $250 million dollar a year business. Nollywood produces more movies yearly than Hollywood and Bollywood
Yoruba Movies are very popular in the home video arena. There are around 300+ producers who churn out movies at an astonishing rate. 30+ new titles are released in Nigerian shops and markets every week where an normal film will sell about 50,000 copies.
Movies revolve round issues of romance, comedy, the occult, dodgy cops, prostitution and HIV/AIDS/. Nigerian stars are well known in Ghana, Zambia and beyond. Star actors sometimes work on several movies at the same time. Yoruba Movies are popular and growing in popularity in Europe and America

This is unfortunate because this image is mainly formed by stereotypical perceptions of the population in the country. In other words, it’s due to a lack of understanding for the people residing in Nigeria. People outside of this country do not truly understand the culture, and this leads to misconceptions. The people of this country understand that it’s going to take a lot of time and resources to help reshape the image that has taken root throughout the years. For this reason, they turn to popular culture – educating through movies and films.

Films are one of the fastest way to communicate important messages across the globe. Because they are created to entertain, they often attract huge crowds. A well made, award winning film can attract a lot of attention from the media. They are showcased in film festivals, and people from other nations can exchange ideas and appreciate the works of others. Through this manner, perceptions of each and every culture starts to change. From the films, there is an exchange of information – information about one culture with another.

Such information is conveyed through films in two different manners – the graphic images, and the music. Music, as everyone knows, is universal. By listening to the sounds in the films, the audience gets a good understanding of the feelings of the characters within the film. Thus, in a non-verbal manner, they are able to understand the emotions of the people belonging to a certain culture.

Graphic images are more straight forward. They convey messages of what is appropriate and what is inappropriate. Nigerian films are starting to portray the lives of the young living in their country. Such films provide insight as to what is happening within the country. The cities are starting to flourish, and many of the young and able are moving into the cities for a higher quality of life. The lives of these young people provide rich content for the films.

The movies show that Nigeria is no longer a country that is lacking behind, and slow in advancing. Due to the evolution of technology, the young has become more and more tech savvy. Harnessing the power of technology, many has been able to make progress in leaps and bounds with their careers. It is a sure sign that the country is thriving.

The active movie industry is another indication that the country is doing well. More and more talented artists are coming forward to become directors, actors and actresses. Armed with great story lines, they have been known to shoot high quality movies even with a limited budget. It just shows how resourceful and creative the young citizens of Nigeria can be. The future looks brighter than ever.

What makes African movies and especially Yoruba Movies as well as Nollywood movies so popular is the story. Nigerian Yoruba Movies are very popular outside of Africa in countries in Western Europe as well as the US and the Caribbean. African movies are now making headlines and moves beyond its origin continent and are growing in popularity daily.

Nollywood is currently just behind Hollywood and Bollywood as the biggest movie distributors in the world. African movies are gaining attention worldwide with films from Western African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria being sold alongside Hollywood’s finest productions. Anyone who does not appreciate these movies if missing out on great African movie culture.

In African it is in the daytime that Yoruba Movies are at their most popular as they are preferred by a more female audience. They are now earning International attention despite the majority of these movies taking and comedic theme and their somewhat low production in comparison with movies you may find in Hollywood. Most of Africa’s movies are formed in Nigeria and Yoruba Movies are amongst the most popular. Not only did they spread beyond Western African the Africa as a whole but they have spread worldwide. Nigeria, Togo and Ghana lead the charge in the popularity of African movies. In one of only a handful of cinemas in Nigeria, a cinema in Lagos screen Yoruba Movies alongside Hollywood blockbusters.

Most Yoruba movies are enjoyed and consumed in the home with family and friends. If you have not experienced or seen movies from Africa whether they are Nigerian, Yoruba Movies or a Ghanaian film you can view the films at your pleasure at http://www.yorubamovies.net