Maxwell African Scholars Union presents: Welcome to Nollywood

The Nigerian film industry, known as Nollywood, has exploded in the last ten years. Now the most popular cinema in all of West Africa—more popular even than imports of Hollywood or Bollywood films—the Nigerian film industry has distinguished itself by shooting all films (called video films there) on digital video. This has allowed production schedules to be compressed (films are shot in several days) and immediately brought to market (distribution consists of bringing films to Idumota electronics market in Lagos and selling them for home viewing). The sheer volume of Nigerian video films is staggering: one estimate has a film being produced for each day of the year. Nollywood is now the third-largest film industry in the world, generating US$286 million per year for the Nigerian economy. And yet this vibrant, profitable industry is virtually unknown outside of Africa. Welcome to Nollywood tells the stories of three directors and their latest productions, while also using interviews with scholars, actors, and journalists who celebrate (in insightful and often humorous ways) the Nigerian video-film industry as a whole, its unique character and genres, as well as its impact on the culture of West Africa and Africans at home and abroad (written by Henry Rosenthal) This documentary screening will be followed by a discussion about the issues raised in the film. For more information, please contact Kwame Edwin Otu, ekotu@syr.edu Sponsor: Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, Co-Sponsor Maxwell African Scholars Union, Co-Sponsor