Making It In “Nollywood,” Nigeria’s Booming Film Business

Nigeria’s film industry in booming. Nollywood has quickly grown into a $3 billion dollar industry that is creating a new generation of Nigerian filmmakers.

Nollywood began with the 1992 dramatic thriller, “Living in Bondage.“ The film reveals a story about a man who is haunted by his wife’s ghost after sacrificing her to a cult.

The VHS masterpiece inspired an entire movement of DIY filmmaking in Nigeria, and these unique narratives that are authentic to Nigeria have made Nollywood highly popular across Africa and its diaspora audience.

Nollywood produces thousands of movies per year, most of them on shoestring budgets and made within days. These movies have a widespread reach and are entertaining audiences in rural and urban settings alike — from makeshift street barbershops and beauty salons to local cinemas and online streaming services like iROKOtv and even Netflix.

This shift to digital is re-defining the existing Nollywood model while creating a new generation of Nigerian filmmakers, who are making high-production value films for the big screen and digital streaming platforms.

VICE’s Thomas Morton traveled to Nigeria to spotlight the world’s second largest film industry as he attempts to become a Nollywood actor himself.

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