Nollywood— Evolution of Second Largest Film Industry
The now Nigerian film industry or Nollywood has not always been the focal point of entertainment in the country. People of the country looked upon Hollywood movies for entertainment while paying much less heed to the country’s own film industry.
From being unknown to being one of the largest film industries, Nollywood resonated with the people of the country and hit the golden era of New Nollywood.
Nigerian film talent is at the peak of its establishment at the moment (with much more to achieve), however, the term Nollywood itself did not even exist until 2002, when a New York Times journalist Norimitsu Onishi got whiffs of film making activity in the city of Lagos— the center Nollywood.
So how exactly did Nollywood become the worldwide term in such a short span and gain an unimaginable global audience? Let's dive deeper into the evolution of Nollywood and how it became the second-largest film industry?
The major reason why the Nollywood industry grew so-fast so-well was that it had all the entertainment ingredients people needed and it hooked to them. Clusters of movies were produced in the early Nollywood era depicting the common tale of Love, Marriage, Conflict, and Betrayal.
The older trends tapped out of the industry with time to be replaced by a better version of the same ingredients that kept the audience so hooked to the classic Nollywood movies like Living in Bondage, Rattlesnake, and Glamor Girls.
However, with New Nollywood taking over due to its claim for the global audience and better production budgets, movies like 30 Days in Atlanta, The Meeting, and October 1 are now making roars among the local as well as international audience.
If we talk about the history and figures of Nollywood's success, it formerly shared the audience with NTA (Nigerian Television Authority). During the years 1970 and 1990, NTA produced a series of compelling TV shows. Back then, these NTA shows were only media content available to the local audience.
To the unfortunate heartbreak, when in 1990, NTA announced the cease of media content, it released its in-house talents and prospective audience to other operators. Hence Nollywood sprang to life, getting its talent from the writers, actors, and directors who cut their teeth in the NTA environment.
If we conclude the idea of this rapid Nollywood acknowledgment, Nollywood and its growth was never truly planned. This was never the part of the picture, but a fortunate accident that made it's away among the chaos of tremendous scattered talent of the country.
The word "Nollywood" itself says volumes about the origin of this now globally recognized industry. Nollywood translates to "no-wood" meaning that the Nigerian Film Industry made its outline from nothing.
Nollywood is probably the only film industry that grew from nothing- to the second largest film industry.
This industry still has so much to feed onto and reach a wider global audience. We have recently seen many new Nollywood movies getting worthwhile critical acclaim, but this is just a head-start to be followed by future talents of the country.
