Nollywood Week Shows the Dynamism of Nigerian Cinema in its Fourth Edition

With more than 2,000 movies produced per year, Nigeria has a flourishing movie industry which is currently the largest in Africa. To celebrate it Nollywood, Nigeria’s movie industry nickname, will congregate this week in Paris where 8 movies will be debuted.

At 3am on Wednesday 1st of June, 10,000 meters above the ground in an Airbus, Nigerian director Kunle Afolayan presented his latest film, “The CEO.” This odd time and location was deliberately chosen to kick off the 4th annual Nollywood Week in Paris. An important rendezvous for Nigerian cinema.

Nigeria is the second largest movies producer in the World, in terms of the number of movies shot per year, behind India and its Bollywood. Almost 2,000 movies are made each year, totaling some 5 billion dollars. In most cases, a movie costs around 10,000 dollars, it is shot in one week, mixed in one week and DVDs are out by week three (just before the movie is pirated and sold all over Lagos on week 4).

But Kunle Afolayan does not endorse this model and relating art with business and his films cost around 1 million dollars to make. To find the money, he does not hesitate to adapt his story in order to be able to include sponsors, such as Air France or Peugeot. Having some private donors is the only way for Nollywood to exist; as the State does not give a single cent to the movie industry.

Kunle Afolayan is not the only Nigerian director actively seeking a new Nigerian cinema. And the new generation of directors does not care about the glamour of the European festivals, “we don’t need them! We will conquer the world without them!”. According to the actor Jimmy Jean-Louis, “It is Africa’s awakening and it will impose itself on Europe!”.

It is the ambition of the Nollywood Week, to show the diversity and the originality that Nigerian cinema offers. Thrillers, comedy, drama, low budget or African blockbuster… every type is represented during Nollywood Week.