Hollywood in Nigeria or: How to Get Rich Quick Special event on the Nigerian video filmmaking industry held jointly by the Hebbel am Ufer theatre and the International Forum of New Cinema
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Most Western film professionals are astonished by the 'Nigerian phenomenon'. Africa's most populous country currently churns out more films than India or the United States. The 1,200-odd titles made each year are video productions cobbled together in just a few days on a shoestring budget. But up to 200,000 copies of these films are sold on VHS cassettes and soon reach an audience of millions in Nigeria's many video rental stores. Without a doubt, the secret of this still very new entertainment industry is to get the right balance, for Nigerian video films are a cross between cinema movies and television programmes, combining African traditions like those of the Yoruba travelling theatre with set pieces from the global media culture in fantastic style. American horror movies are a particularly popular source of inspiration for Nigerian filmmakers, as are Indian Bollywood films and Latin American soap operas. The rest of Anglophone Africa is watching the Lagos video filmmaking industry with great interest. In Ghana and Kenya, for example, production companies from Lagos are trying to mimic the Nigerian model, simply swapping the stars and stories. The new films produced in Nigeria may have little in common with the classic African narrative cinema, but as an answer to economic and political reality they represent an exciting challenge in the context of the international cinema. This is particularly the case as the Western understanding of the African cinema has been influenced since the 1960s by films which – with the exception of the Fespaco Festival in Burkina Faso – are rarely seen or screened in Africa. In contrast to African films d’auteurs, latter-day Nigerian productions have few ambitions as regards success at European festivals or in art house cinemas. Indeed, many of these films are disconcerting to Western audiences. For instance, when an American ethnologist recently showed his class the Nigerian classic Blood Money, a rather confused student asked him why they had been made to watch the film. There were neither beautiful landscapes nor post-Marxist heroes to marvel at; not even the melancholy Afropessimism that Europeans can always fall back on. Films like Blood Money make no concessions to either the tastes of Western cinephiles or the hopelessly outdated stereotypes which still colour our perceptions of Africa. Thus liberated from the paradigms and ideologies of Western cinematography, Nigerian filmmakers cater exclusively for local tastes – and with complete financial independence. As a result, the new video films provide a fascinating insight into both the way in which Nigerian society perceives itself today and the hopes and fears that preoccupy this unstable, post-colonial society. Dorothee Wenner Monday, 9 Feb., 2004 11:00 – 13:00 How to outsmart Hollywood - Overview and introduction to Nigerian video filmmaking with representatives of the Nigerian film and video industry Presentation: Dorothee Wenner (International Forum of New Cinema). With: Jeta Amata (producer, director), Peace Anyiam- Fiberesima (producer), Greg Fiberesima (director), Brenda Goldblatt (director, producer), Charles Novia (director, producer), Francis Onwochei (General Secretary ITPAN), Dr. Onookome Okome (film expert), Keith Shiri ('Africa at the Pictures' film festival London). This session will introduce the audience to secrets, facts and fiction surrounding the amazing videofilm industry of Nigeria. Film professionals will speak about their own experiences as producers/ directors/distributors/actors. Academic experts will provide additional insights into the still very young history of the Nigerian video film industry, its struggles, its triumphs, and an outlook for the future. 15:00 – 17:00 How to Soap, How to Horror, How to Preach Contents and Commercial Strategies Presentation: Harald Martenstein (journalist). With: Greg Fiberesima (director), Francis Onwochei (General Secretary ITPAN), Merle Kröger & Philip Scheffner (filmmaker, dogfilm group), Dr. Onookome Okome (film expert) Genre and Commercial Strategies With: Peace Anyiam-Fiberesima, Greg Fiberesima, Francis Onwochei. A presentation of Nigerian videofilms with short film excerpts Moving Towards Genre With Dr. Onookome Okome: ”Video film as a social document to outline the anxiety of the local audience in an overwhelming flow of globalisation and the ultimate response to that phenomenon. The symbolic representation of the lives of those who patronise and make the videofilms.” Soap and Politics With: Merle Kröger, Philip Scheffner. Presentation of the famous soap opera Mr. Basi & Company, produced by the Nigerian Nobel Prize laureate and author Ken Saro Wiwa. This series was more than just a story about a sympathetic trickster from Lagos. The television format of soap opera was used as a mirror to reflect on corruption and state authorities in Nigeria. Tuesday, 10 Feb., 2004 11:00 – 13:00 Nick Goes to Nollywood With: Brenda Goldblatt, Alicia Arce. Presentation of their documentary Nick Goes to Nollywood (BBC, 2003) with film excerpts. Directing Workshop With: Jeta Amata, Francis Onwochei, DFFB students. The Nigerian director and producer Jeta Amata on his experience of shooting a German version of a Nollywood film in Berlin in cooperation with the German Film and Television Academy DFFB. Honour and Praise With: Susanne Amatosero. A demonstration of the popular Nigerian art form 'Oriki' to honour and praise an outstanding person. Surprise guest! 15:00 – 17:00 How Can We Learn from Nigeria? African and Overseas Film Industry Presentation: Keith Shiri ('Africa at the Pictures', film festival London). With: Michael Auret (CEO Sithengi Film-Video Festival S.A.), Peace Anyiam-Fiberesima (producer), Imruh Bakari (Film Festival Sansibar), Bärbel Mauch (producer), Esther van Messel (World Sales First Hands Films), Francis Onwochei (General Secretary ITPAN), Charles Novia (director, producer) Dr. Onokoome Okome will open this session with a statement on the different kinds of videofilms in the streets of Nigeria – and how they matter to the audience. Afterwards, Nigerian producers/ distributors on the panel will discuss with their Western counterparts and festival directors the delicate issue of mutual perception in post-colonial times – and how this influences funding and other relevant decision-making. Hitherto, Nigerian video filmmaking didn't seek attention in the Western film festival circuit – and the Western world pretty much ignored what indeed must be seen as an enormous challenge to the traditional understanding of ”African films”. There is much to be learned from Nigeria – but how? Every presentation can be attended individually! Monday, 9 Feb., 2004 13:00 The Return · D Kingsley Ogoro, 75 min., 2003 17:30 Thunderbolt · D Tunde Kelani, 90 min., 2001 19:00 Sawaroide · D Tunde Kelani 17min., 1998 20:00 Raging Storm · D Francis K. Onchowei, 90 min., 1998 21:30 Glamour Girls 1 · D Kenneth Nnebue, 125 min., 1992 00:00 Hostages 1 · D Tade Odigan, 90 min., 1997 All films are screened in the original version (English or with English subtitles) Tuesday, 10 Feb., 2004 10:30 Videofabrik Nigeria · D Matthias Heeder, doc., 26 min., 2002 13:30 Nick Goes to Nollywood · D Brenda Goldblatt & Alicia Arce, doc., 60 min., 2004 17:00 The Alexa Affair · D Jeta Amata and DFFB students, 30 min., 2004 (World Premiere) 18:00 The Queen of the Rain Forest · D Jeta Amata, 120 min., 2003 21:30 I Will Die for You · D Charles Novia, 90 min., 2003 23:00 The Bastard · D Teco Benson,130 min., 2002 Nigerian videofilms screeningsat HAU 2 (Hebbel AM UFER)