Announcemnet: An interview with Souleymane Cisse of Mali will be available in the Summer issue of Africa Update http://www.ccsu.edu/afstudy/archive.html volume 1X. Issue 3 (Summer 2002) (Forthcoming) ............................................................................ .................. See also a previous interview: Africa Update Volume VIII, Issue 4 (Fall 2001) Africa Update is the Quarterly Newsletter of the Central Connecticut State University African Studies Program Nigerian Cinema Revisited By Gloria Emeagwali, C.C.S.U. An interview with Mike Abiola, Chief Executive of Afro-Hollywood and Director of Pace Television, London. The interview took place at the headquarters of Afro-Hollywood, HolIes House, London. Gloria Emeagwali: We have heard of the boom in Nigerian video films. When was the turning point? Mike Abiola: 1993/4 G.E.: Who are the high profile Nigerian film producers? M.A.: Well these include Tunde Kelani of Mainframe Productions, Amaka Igwe of Moving Movies, Tade Ogidan of Ogidi Productions. They document the culture for posterity in authentic classical Yoruba and Igbo dialect. G.E.: What makes these stand out? M.A.; Well they use the latest technology and do proper research for their scripts. They win most of the awards. G.E.: Which is the most popular type of production? Is it political? M.A.: No. Films based on everyday happenings on a theme that is well put together with good popular actors and actresses to deliver the film story. Nigerian viewers depend on the stars acting in the film and the producers. Anything made by Mainframe does well. Examples of successful Nigerian film on video include Femi Lasode's Sango (1998), Freedom (1999); Tade Ogindan's Hostages (1998), Diamonds Ring (1999); Amaka Igwe's Forever (1998) and Violated (1997) and Ogidi's Release (1998). G.E.: What are the major themes? M.A.: The themes vary but include philosophy, religion, spirituality etc. For example in Ti-Oluwa-li-ile The Earth is the Lord's, the focus is on religion and culture. The sale of the ancestral land to speculators leads to intervention by ancestral spirits. Amaka and Ogidan tend to focus on contemporary issues. The theme of Tunde Kelani's Saworoide Brass Bells, is historical, dating to the 1950's and 1960's. G.E.: In the Sahelian region, in Mali and Burkina Faso, for example, actors and actresses are not really turned into celebrities. Is Nigeria different? M.A.: Yes, indeed. Nigerians do celebrate their actors and actresses. We do something here in London to honor outstanding actors and actresses in the Afro-Hollywood awards and Parade of Stars. Most Nigerians make the effort to attend and see their favorite stars get autographs, take photographs and so on. Nigerians celebrate their actors and actresses. They shower them with gifts. As early as 2:00 A.M. one morning I received a call by someone trying to find about their favorite star. G.E.: In a previous interview I asked about the sudden boom in film production. Do you have any thoughts on this? M.A.: Well, the downturn in the economy made it difficult to import foreign films. Most distributors of Indian and Chinese film saw problems repatriating money abroad. In 1993/4 during the political and economic crisis, it dawned on film practitioners that the vacuum could be filled. Some of those trained in film school saw the video as a medium as undesirable. Some of the people who decided to take the bulls by the horns were in fact formally trained as apprentices to Nigerian pioneers, although not necessarily in Western institutions. Some armed themselves with their camcorders and recorders hiring at times camera men who covered social events and parties, and improvising on scripts in the process. Stage actors were asked to improvise. Some had been trained by veteran Yoruba actors such as Hubert Ogunde, Duro Ladipo, and Kole Ogunsola. As demand grew so, too, more people got involved. Producers of videos in English and Igbo soon got more involved. [The first in the series of interviews was published in Africa Update, Fall issue, 2000] Return to: Table of Contents --- --- You are currently subscribed to african-cinema-conference as: [archive@jab.org] To unsubscribe, forward this message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
