Film Distribution is No Longer the Problem of Nollywood
Widespread piracy and international film distribution were the recurrent problems of Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry before the attraction of the leading companies in acquisition and distribution in the global film industry through the participation of Nigerian filmmakers in international film festivals and markets in America and Europe.
The international exposure improved the quality of Nigerian movies in accordance with the criteria for international acquisition and distribution of film and TV productions with the use of the best digital cinema cameras and accessories from Canon, Sony, Blackmagic Design, Christie Digital and ARRI.
With the attractions of the MultiChoice Group, StarTimes,
Canal+, Sky TV, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney, Lionsgate and others, Nigerian filmmakers cannot complain about the lack of access for the international acquisition and distribution of their movies. The only challenge to them is to produce very good movies to meet the growing demand for global content of top quality of international standards.
Nollywood has attracted Dolby for the best sound quality in film and TV productions, Hiventy for the best dubbing in different international languages of movies, TV dramas, comedies and series and Drylab R&D AS of Norway for the best set reports and workflows for film and TV productions.
Nollywood has also attracted the IMAX Corporation of Canada for mega cinemas and CanalOlympia of France.
"It is very important for us to be close to Nollywood," Simon Minkowski, development director at Canal Olympia, told AFP.
Another IMAX cinema is going to be built within the next five years.
There are other leading global companies with big budgets for international acquisition and distribution and are willing to acquire the film and TV rights to Nigerian content of which I have recommended two new movies by two outstanding Nigerian filmmakers. One of the movies is scheduled for theatrical release in local cinemas in Nigeria. They are also looking for new movies that can have international theatrical release.
Success Iyoha, one of the actors for the "Naked Beauty".
My Big Picture of Nollywood is to see Nigerian movies grossing up to US$100 million globally in the next five years and to see Nollywood actors (both female and male) earning up to US$5 million for playing leading roles in big budget movies. The leading actor in my proposed first feature, "Naked Beauty" will earn US$500, 000 for her role alongside the African American A-List Hollywood actor. And she will still be under 30 years at the world premiere of the film in Europe.
The final statement is international acquisition and distribution companies are available for the best film and TV productions from Nollywood.
And only the best is good enough for us. So, don't settle for less.
- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
The CEO,
International Digital Post Network Limited,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,
@247nigeria Twitter,
Vuulr Program Partner,
International Acquisition and Distribution.
Drylab Ambassador for international productions,
Member, Digital Cinema Society.
