Reinventing Nollywood: The impact of online funding and distribution on Nigerian cinema

Abstract

The Nigerian film industry, often referred to as Nollywood, is currently experiencing significant transformations in its mode of production and distribution. These far-reaching transformations are driven by tech-savvy Nigerian film-makers who are willing to consider innovative models in the film-making practice – from crowdfunding to content distribution via online platforms – in their effort to become relevant in the changing digital global marketplace. Drawing on pertinent case studies and in-depth interviews with stakeholders in the Nigerian film industry, this article suggests that advances in digital technologies, such as the Internet and digital media, are creating new ways for new-generation film-makers in Nigeria to fund and circulate their creative work to a vast global audience.

Minority representation in the streaming era: An analysis of Jewish identity in competing subscription video on-demand platforms

“…As Miller (2017) argues in the case of the successful anime-focused SVOD Crunchyroll, a sense of communal connection drives consumers to the service as much as exclusive access to particular content. Similarly, and in more direct parallel to Jewish niche SVOD platforms, the West African cinema SVOD IROKOtv thrives, according to Ebelebe (2019), because it “helps the African diaspora reconnect with their cultural identity” as well as providing access to hard-to-find media content (2019: 475). Jewzy, ChaiFlicks, and IZZY attempt to do just this, but with the additional burden of competing with one another for a smaller potential audience.…”

Netflix and Africa: Streaming, branding and tastemaking in non-domestic African film markets

“…The arrival of Netflix on the African film scene follows a chain of events that has seen the sustained intermediation of the domestic African screen industries, many of which initially followed the model of Nollywood inasmuch as they were founded upon informal distribution structures (with material disseminated by filmmakers themselves via VHS, DVD and VCD) (Lobato 2010: 337-354;Bischoff 2017: 262). Since then, numerous formal and informal services have emerged, coalesced, and faded, with distribution increasingly falling into the hands of the multinationals (see Adeleke 2016;Mwansa 2016;Ebelebe 2019;Sawadogo 2017). As the continent's film cultures come under the aegis of increasingly fewer big players, the security of their long-term preservation and accessibility does too, a problem summarised in Wheeler Winston Dixon's observation that 'as events have proved, with streaming technology, even when you buy something, you don't really own it' (2013: 8).…”

Adapting to context: Creative strategies of video streaming services in Nigeria

“…It was also the first app-based TVOD portal in Nigeria. Ebelebe (2017) observes that the app was widely accepted as it recorded over four million downloads. According to a former executive of the company, Bobola Oniwura (personal communication), the company aimed at enabling users to pay for specific films that they wanted to watch instead of paying time-specific subscription fee for access to an entire library that they may not want.…”

“…This was to enable viewers that use MTN SIM cards to easily pay for contents using their airtime instead of credit cards. Ebelebe (2017) observes that the partnership was also a strategic stride targeted at positioning the app to the over 200 million MTN subscribers across 20 African countries of operation.…”