So, once again, Nigeria or to be more precise,Nollywood, has been stated to be the 2nd largest producer of movies in the world. It is a claim to fame ,a bragging right of many of those in the industry. They reminisce about how it was built from nothing a little over 15 years ago and look where they are now, top of the world…..in quantity, but does that also translate to quality?
How many of our films make the film festival circuits? You may argue that , most Nigerian film makers are not aware of those, or are not interested in those. Granted, but let me further go on to ask. How many are good enough to make those circuits. How many can make the cut in respect to quality, entertainment, cross over appeal? Now, the usual counter to this question is , “We don’t have Hollywood budgets so you can’t compare us to them”. “We are a young industry so you have to give us time to grow”.
Ok, those are valid arguments, but here are some equally valid arguments. Back in 1992 , a young passionate 23 year old director Robert Rodriguez with a $7,000 budget, made a film called El Mariachi. His budget was summed from money he had saved, sourced from family, friends and from donating his body for medical experiments. He had no studio support, or even a crew. All he had was his camera and his actors. He played the roles of producer,writer, director, special effect man and even caterer. His film was so impressive, that the studios bought it,transferred it to 35mm and released it in the cinema. El Mariachi went on the gross $2,040,920 and is still selling on DVD till today. That single movie launched his career, making him one of the hottest directors in the industry, with negotiating power some of his predecessors never had . He went on to make films like Desperado,From Dusk Till Dawn,Spy Kids, Sin City,and the recent Machete.
In his 20′s Kevin Smith worked in small store in his neighborhood, inspired by a film called Slackers, a eureka moment struck him with an idea for a movie. With a budget of a little over $27,000 he crafted an industry defying movie called Clerks. Distributed by Miramax, Clerks became a cult favorite, spawned a sequel and a string of other movies by the director. and he became a bona fide Hollywood player who had carved his own niche by his peculiar way of writing dialogue and creating bizarre characters in films like; Clerks 2,Mallrats, Chasing Amy,Dogma, and the upcoming Red State.
The most recent triumph of low budget movie making,is a little movie called Paranormal Activity, took the world by storm in 2009. Following thematically the previous success and path of The Blair Witch project, it was made for $15,000. The final result was so good that it caught the attention of Steven Spielberg and was said to scare the living daylights out of him. Now remember this is the man that made people scared to go into the water, with his movie Jaws(1975), wrote the supernatural chiller Poltergeist, and is perhaps the world’s most recognized ,respected and successful directors The innovation and creativity behind the movie is what the respect of the studios and film makers, the entertainment factor won fans, a movie that was made for $15,000, made…wait for it….$107,917,283 at the box office, yep you read that right. Do i need to cite more examples??? Are we still going to use budget excuses to justify really bad films.
There are so many amazing stories of film makers that did not allow a lack of big budget to hinder them from making ground breaking movies. The Independent film sector is full of numerous testimonials. The careers of Sam Raimi(Spiderman),Chris Nolan(Inception), Paul T Anderson(There will be Blood),Richard Linklatter(School of Rock) and several others were launched that way. These directors did not have any studio funding them when they made their feature debuts. All they had was an incredible amount of passion, a dream.Family and Friends helped out with money to rent equipment. They then found a cast and crew that caught the vision and dove in. Most times taking a low or no fee, and dedicating weekends and personal time to get those films made. They saw the bigger picture and decided that they had to be a part of it. And these are just the players in America!!!!, There are also the brilliant film makers from Mexico, Latin America, and Asia to contend with. They have made amazing movies, which caught the world, and thereby put them on a larger playing field. These “third world” filmmakers face many of the similar obstacles that we in sub saharan Africa experience.
Think it’s only Hollywood? Ever heard of the French New Wave? It was an era of French Film Making, that started shortly after World War 2. The country and it’s economy were still recovering from Hitler’s devastation, there was not a lot of money and unlike the Americans they did not have a studio system. They had little money, and instead of that factor resulting in badly made movies, it sparked an era of innovation and creativity.It has been described as an artistic movement whose influence on film has been as profound and enduring as that of surrealism or cubism on painting, the French New Wave (or Le Nouvelle Vague) made its first splashes as a movement shot through with youthful exuberance and a brisk reinvigoration of the filmmaking process.
Two of the pioneers directors were Jean Luc Goddard and Francois Truffat, who became highly respected not only by film fans, but by Hollywood as a whole. Their new approach , inventiveness and general reinvention of established conventions changed the game, and they influenced many upcoming screenwriters and directors. Quentin Tarantino(Inglorious Basterds,Pulp Fiction) was so influenced by them, that he named his production company after one of Goddard’s films, and their influence is seen in his early films. What say ye about a Green Wave??
These examples dispell every excuse that we can possibly use about budgets being the reason for mediocre films. WHY, most of their budget went to film, stock that they shot on, so we can strike that cos we don’t shoot on celluloid. We don’t have big budgets??? Well, we do what they did, write within the budget and use innovation and creativity to craft something extraordinary. The actors fees in most Nollywood films today, exceeds the entire budget of what Chris Nolan made his first feature film. So what excuse do we still want to use 17 years later.
The biggest hurdle is the status quo. We are happy with the status quo, we are happy with the patronizing pat on the back that we get from the world because of what we “overcome” to make movies. They are only impressed that we actually get them made, but rarely if ever with what we actually make. They are impressed the same way, a parent would be impressed by their toddler making a discernible painting. So, we are the 2nd largest film producers in the world. How many of our films have been picked up for international distribution? How many fans are there outside the Afro Caribbean community and their friends and family?
We rush into production, with scripts that come off as if they were scribbled on a table napkin, shoot within a week and the next ,it’s out. Sure, the producers will make a huge profit, but what next? 10 years on will people go back to buy or watch those films? Will an anniversary edition be released for the fans? Will a generation that never watched it seek it out because they have heard their parents, uncles, and pop culture celebrate the movie constantly? We rarely see the bigger picture. The time that can be dedicated to make one great movie , is spread over 10 lackluster movies because of myopic sight. Last year the 25th Anniversary of Back to the Future(BTF) was celebrated. It was rereleased in the cinema and an anniversary DVD was also released. 25 years later it still has a legion of old and new fans, that are seeing it again, thus making money for the producers. WHY, it was an incredibly well made film, that still looks better than films being released today. You may say BTF was not made on a little budget, ok. Kevin Smith’s debut , “Clerks”, also had a 10 year anniversary DVD released, the film has a huge following, who were the some people that watched his follow up releases.
There is hope yet. In the past 6 years a few Nigerian directed movies, with Nigerian actors at the forefront have enjoyed cinematic release worldwide, a few of them picking up awards while touring the international film festival circuit. You may have heard of a few of them; Figurine, Ije:The Journey, and the recent Mirror Boy, which had a Leicester Square,London premiere. The glimmer of better films is on the horizon, as a new generation of film makers rise. The bragging rights we have been claiming all these years are looking to actually becoming legitimate. But these few films are but a drop in the Ocean to the possibilities of what we could be doing. If the average producer focus on making 3 great films a year, instead of 20 quick sale mediocre ones, the industry will be much better for it. Our current drive through “i want it NOW”, microwave attitude to making films, is not healthy for the growth of the industry. It may bring immediate satisfaction and results, but no long term nutrition and growth. Just the same thing over and over, enough for sustenance but not for development.
Ok, so yes, Hollywood also likes quick profit, but also knows how long term profit is beneficial too. There are several cases but one of them is that of The Shawshank Redemption. A triumphant film , directed by Frank Darabont(The Green Mile,The Mist) based on a Steven King novella, IMDB fans rate it as once of the greatest films ever made. On it’s 1994 release it did not make a lot of money, at the box office, but as word of mouth spread, it became a fan favorite, and sales on DVD rentals went through the roof. Many from first time viewing others from repeat viewings. 17 years later people are upgrading their DVD copy to a Blu Ray copy so they can still enjoy it. There are films released that same day, that would have made a profit in the box office, but today are nowhere to be seen. Are you getting the picture?
For a moment , let’s forget about Hollywood, and focus on World Cinema, a term used primarily to refer to films made outside the US and the UK. Cinema from other corners of the world that are equally as brilliant and often better than what Hollywood has to offer. Most of these films do not have big budgets, but are just incredible on so many mind blowing and breath taking levels. Films from Mexico, Brazil Argentina, South Africa, Spain, Germany,Pakistan etc
Ok, let me clarify a few things. World Cinema does not usually get as much exposure as Hollywood made films. Not because they are less quality, but simply because of the distribution power of Hollywood, and the fact that many english speakers have an aversion to watching movies made in another language or outside America and don’t like to read subtitles Even British movies are snubbed by many. However , within the industry, Many producers, directors and actors have huge amount of respect for World Cinema. The actors and directors in these films are often invited to Hollywood, and though their movies don’t always make it to the cinema screens their movies are sold on DVD in international chain stores such as HMV, Blockbusters, Nu Metro, bookstores and available online at Amazon, Barnes&Nobles etc .
These international video chain store markets are avenues that Nigerian home videos have not broken into yet even though some other African films have.
I want you to take a journey of imagination with me. Imagine a time, where our films are reckoned with on the same level as World Cinema films. Cinematically, performance wise and the general entertainment value, enjoyed not just by Africans, but by any viewer. Imagine a time where like the British ,Spanish and Australian actors and directors that work in Hollywood, our own stars and directors are sought after. A time when African Americans are no longer called to play roles of Africans, but they come straight to Nigeria to cast because of our impressive work. A time where we have proper sets, locations, trained cast and crew, that Hollywood comes calling for collaborations. They come on a regular basis to shoot films here and work alongside us. A time where they are running after us to make films for them to distribute and show in their cinemas.
The amazing film Brazilian “City of God” was not an American production, but it took the world by storm.Why? Because the Americans saw how good it was and they promoted it. It showed the Brazilian story, but it was relatable to the viewers. The makers went on to produce a companion piece Elite Squad which got great reviews. The South African movie Tsotsi , won an Oscar, and it’s director Gavin Hood,was hired to direct Wolverine: Xmen Origins. Nollywood makes more films a year than either one of these countries , so why can’t the same apply for us, if we step up our game?
Now there are some problems unique to the Nigerian filmmaker that the examples in America did not have to face.Lack of Power, leading to reliance on generators,minimal access to equipment,cast and crewing up,area boys bugging you on location and all those sort of things. They must be acknowledged, cos THEY ARE genuine problems that even the most skilled film makers over here face, when trying to translate their vision from an amazing script to screen. But if the current breed of video-makers overcome those and still churn out content for their following, well, we can find a way to bring ours to light too.
We are resourceful nation of people,and I’m hopeful that like everything else in Nigeria as with the music industry, we shall overcome.
This write up is not intended to praise foreign film makers and put down our own people although it may sound that way.If this were an automobile industry,no one would accept excuses for a company making the very same car 15 years on with little or no changes. It’s a challenge to stir us up. As with many other things in the country, there is a lot of room for improvement.
We are all glad with the change in the music industry that has taken place over the past 7 years. We have embraced the change and are glad the era of half baked and no talent artists is gone. I write this to inspire upcoming film makers and take away the “budget`’ excuses of the current one. YES, a good budget is important to bring out a certain level of quality, but as cited, many of the film makers we respect today worked within tiny constraints. They learned to live with those little budgets and used innovation and creativity to achieve amazing results. Recently in a CNN interview , the director /producer of a African American film, on the challenges of getting black centered films into the mainstream said.
“if we keep singing the same song, we will keep dancing the the same tune, and i for one want to dance to a different tune”.
Nigeria is on the precipice of being a great film industry, not just in numbers , but in quality. But, until we have a paradigm shift in the industry, many of these things will remain but lofty dreams.
