The Nigerian Economy and the Creative Economy Are in the Doldrums of Conceit and Deceit

The Nigerian Economy and the Creative Economy Are in the Doldrums of Conceit and Deceit

Let me just make the comprehension easy in my brief commentary.

Anyone who says the Nigerian economy is doing well is a liar. Anyone who tells you the Creative Industry is booming is another liar.

The present administration of the Nigerian government blaming the immediate past administration of  former President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR for the current economic woes shows political dishonesty and administrative incompetence of those in the corridors of power.

The major projects recently commissioned with fanfare by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR were started by former President Buhari. 

You cannot take credit for the work started successfully by the previous administration and still turn around to blame and complain about the economic setbacks which were caused by recurrent expenditures on federal projects of which you actually benefited from the multi-million dollar contracts by proxies of the same national ruling party of Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress (APC) since 2015 to date.

Honesty remains the best policy in any public and private office. 

Making excuses and living in denial of your own faults and failures is sheer conceit and deceit.

Have you noticed?

The absence and reductions of adverts and promos by majority of the companies in Nigeria are actually indications of the state of the Nigerian Economy. This means that the situation is critical.

 In the creative industry, only MultiChoice of South Africa is profitable in Nigeria. 

The Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) cannot afford to produce enough content; has zero budget for acquisition and distribution and still wasting millions of naira having unprofitable channels on DStv and GOtv of the MultiChoice and the partnership with StarTimes is unprofitable and should be scrapped. 

If the NTA can't buy content produced by Nigerian producers that means the Nigerian film and TV industry is in economic crisis.

Only few Nigerian movies are making money from the cinemas and only few can be acquired by Netflix and other foreign streaming platforms. More than 90 percent are on YouTube channels in competition for revenues from views and only few can make ends meet.

The private TV stations cannot afford to pay for the acquisition of local content.

Both the NTA and private TV stations don't compete for film and TV acquisition and distribution deals in the international film and TV markets, because they don't have marketable content of international quality to sell and they don't have the money to buy top grade content from other countries.

It is dumb to be over the moon watching music videos of few Nigerian Afrobeats artistes on foreign TV channels who are just a fraction of hundreds of others who can't even afford to produce music videos is enough for anyone who is not a dummy to know that the Nigerian creative industry is still underdeveloped and the creative economy is underdeveloped. The creative industry is actually disorganized in Nigeria.

Coming to the international film festivals in Nigeria; none of them is profitable to the creative economy.

Ask them how much money they have contributed to the creative economy, they don't know. Because there are no annual forensic reports on the economic benefits of film festivals in Nigeria.

What are the deliverables from all the editions of the film festivals in the past 10 years?

The organizers cannot tell?

The popular annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) submits annual reports on what the film festival contributed to Canada:

"Our 11 day Festival generates more than $200 million dollars in annual economic activity to the tourism and hospitality sector for the City of Toronto and Province. We drive over $36 million dollars in taxes to the three levels of government annually through our Festival and year-round TIFF Bell Lightbox cinemas."

- Toronto International Film Festival Inc.

I have the report for anyone who wants a copy.

Which international film festival in Nigeria has any annual report for the state government and federal government?

We must stop the political conceit and deceit by political appointees who are equally being misled by political jobbers and title chasers and opportunists in the Nigerian entertainment industry.

The Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy cannot make any impact on the Nigerian economy without deliverables from every sector of the entertainment industry on the economic benefits. 

What are the market valuations of the fashion and textile industry, cosmetics industry, contemporary art and photography industry, film and TV industry, advertising industry and other parts of the creative industry?

Lest we forget, assumptions are not credible. 

You cannot waste millons of naira on local and international events without showing us the economic benefits in your annual report. 

We want to see verified facts and figures and not mere news reports, photos and videos.

- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

The Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,

Since 2013.

Is Nollywood Really Booming?

Is Nollywood Really Booming?

The sociocultural phenomenon of the guerilla filmmakers of Nollywood, the first indie film industry in Africa has been attracting global attention making news headlines of the foreign news media since the early 1990s and making the stars of the low budget movies household names across Africa.  "Nollywood is booming" echoed from the street to the internet and on the popular cable TV channels called Africa Magic on DStv and GOtv of the MultiChoice Group of South Africa. 

According to a widely circulated report since 2020:

Nigeria’s film industry contributed 2.3% and about 239 billion naira ($660 million) to the GDP and projects that the industry will increase its export revenue earnings to over $1 billion. The motion picture and music recording industry exceeded 2020 projected $806 million revenue contributing about 730 billion naira ($1.8 billion) to the country’s GDP.

The country’s television and video market grew by 7.49% to $806 million in 2020, up from $732 million in 2018. The industry is projected to earn about $900 million in 2023. The market is driven by subscription revenue, which accounted for 72.26% of total revenue in 2018. TV advertising accounts for 21.31% of total revenue.

https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/nigeria-media-and-entertainment

With other similar reports; to the foreign news media, Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry is booming with references to the success stories of DStv, GOtv and Showmax of the MultiChoice Group; the increasing numbers of cinemas with all the highest grossing Nollywood movies in the box office making millions of dollars annually since 2016; the exciting attractions of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other OTT platforms with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. But the fact is; Nollywood is not among the 10 biggest film industries in the world by box office revenues, TV budgets and revenues. 

Nollywood no longer produces the often reported over 2, 000 movies annually used to rank it as the second largest film industry in the world after Bollywood of India and ahead of Hollywood of America. Since the COVID-19 pandemic with the consequences of the lockdowns and restrictions of physical contact with others at work, productions of movies and TV series have reduced in Nigeria.

Nollywood is not the biggest film industry in Africa. 

South Africa has the biggest film industry on the continent with the biggest and largest film distributors and exhibitors; including the popular Durban Film Mart, Cape Town International Film Market and Festival and MIP Africa. The biggest GSM telecom network in Nigeria is MTN from South Africa used by the majority of Nigerians for data to use the internet and the MultiChoice Group of South Africa is the biggest and largest cable TV network in Nigeria. 

The local private and public TV stations in Nigeria cannot compete with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and other broadcasting services of South Africa in the entertainment industry.

The reports that Nigeria has the biggest film industry in Africa are  false.

Nollywood is booming continues to be echoing and repeated in the news reports, but the realities are different inside Nigeria.

Behind the showtimes of the cinemas in the big shopping malls of Lagos and other states; behind the glitz and razzmatazz of the red carpets of the premieres of movies and international film festivals in Nollywood; majority of the filmmakers with their casts and crews are struggling and suffering to make ends meet. Majority of them cannot afford brand new cars or SUVs and cannot afford to build or buy houses. 

Dozens of practitioners suffered and passed on in Nollywood last year 2022, but only the famous ones made news whilst the unknown ones passed away unsung. Many of them could not pay their medical bills.

Many of those who survived the critical financial challenges only survived by divine interventions of Almighty God through various means, including the kindness of several "Good Samaritans" who gave them helping hands to rescue them from their misery.

I had a catalog of movies, TV series and documentaries of the best quality, but all the TV channels in Nigeria could not afford to pay for the TV rights as low as US$750 per movie or episode for two years. They cannot even afford to produce content of premium quality and the employees are underpaid.

There is no single film and TV market in Nigeria and no film commission, except the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) without a film commissioner. 

The NFC does not know that there should be a film commission in every state in the country, including Abuja. 

Nollywood is far from booming, because even the fortunate ones among the filmmakers who  produced the highest grossing movies and series acquired by Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Showmax and other major foreign film acquisition and distribution companies have not become multimillionaires in dollars like their counterparts in Hollywood. 

None of the highest grossing Nollywood movies made up to US$2 million.  

The Hollywood blockbuster "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" has become the first film to make N1 Billion from the box office in Nigeria and one billion naira is less than US$2 million by the  current exchange rate of the dollar to the naira of $1 for N730. $1m is about N730 million. 

A movie in a booming film industry by global valuation should be making millions of dollars within three weeks and not struggling to make two million dollars within three months of the theatrical release. Nigeria does not have up to 300 screens and the population of the country is over 200 million, the largest in Africa. Exhibitors spend millions of dollars annually on recurrent expenditures of the cinemas in a country without regular power supply for electricity and they have to use big industrial generators with daily supply of diesel or petrol. There are days a cinema will not have up to 20 moviegoers and the generator will be used for power supply for screenings without interruptions.

I don't envy the exhibitors and investors. 

Uber is making more money in Nigeria than all the members of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN).  

It is better, richer and safer to invest in an urban taxi transport service in the country than to invest in having cinemas in Nigeria. And guess what? An Urban taxi cabs service can still make money from Nollywood without sweat. How?

Nollywood creates thousands of jobs, but over 90 percent of these jobs are not permanent, because the jobs end once the production of a movie ends. Many of the  actors have to fast and pray to get new roles in the next productions. Majority of the actors, cameramen, camerawomen, gaffers and others are among the lowest paid employees in Nigeria. Their incomes cannot make ends meet for them and their dependants without any social welfare and without any insurance policy. 

Nollywood is still a developing film industry with multiple streams of incomes. But the lack of structure is hampering the economic growth.

Movie merchandise and film tourism are still unexplored sectors of Nollywood which can be avenues to create permanent jobs for many people and increase the revenues from the film industry. 

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,

New Nigeria on Pinterest

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NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series 

First book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry available in paperback and hardcover versions.

Once Upon a Time in NOLLYWOOD: The Documentary

 

Once Upon a Time in NOLLYWOOD: The Documentary 

"Once Upon a Time in Nollywood" is a documentary project of Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Publisher/Editor of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series.

#Nollywood #pictures #film #movies #filmmaking #filmmakers #documentary #oscars #awards #nominations #harry #spare #mirror

View the photo gallery on http://totnaija.blogspot.com/2018/08/once-upon-time-in-nollywood-in-pictures.html?m=1

Nigerian Film Corporation, Show Us the Money!

 The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC). should be run by competent professional experts with proven knowledge of the film industry locally and globally and not by civil servants without any proven expertise and experience in the management of the Nigerian film industry.

As we speak, Nollywood and Kannywood are made up of independent film and TV studios, administratively challenged ad-hoc producers association; financially challenged guild of directors; administratively challenged actors guild; accredited and unaccredited film schools and film festivals doing their best without any competent government administration.
The NFC had a film festival two weeks ago and majority of Nigerians did not even know about it, because of the administrative incompetence of the corporation. The theme was "Show Us The Money" and there was no film market to attract international acquisition and distribution companies to show them the money.

 
- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
The Publisher/Editor, NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series.
@247nigeria Twitter.

#film #Nigeria #Nollywood #Kannywood #actors #producers #directors #guild #accredited #government #management #experience #money #schools #administration #civil #corporation #filmmarket #studios #filmschool #filmindustry #filmfestivals

Branwen Okpako, One of the Best NIgerian Filmmakers Outside Nollywood

Prof. Branwen Kiemute Okpako ,  Nigerian born Welsh German filmmaker and scholar, a Chancellor’s Fellow is one of the most accomplished NIgerian filmmakers profiled in the third edition of my NOLLYWOO MIRROR® Series, the first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

Branwen Okpako was born in Lagos/Nigeria. She received a BSC in political sciences from Bristol University, England in 1991, followed by MFA equivalent in film directing from the German Film & Television Academy, Berlin (dffb) in 1999. Her graduation film Dreckfresser (Dirt For Dinner 2000) won several international awards including First Steps: The German Newcomer Award for Documentary film 2000, IG Media Award (DOK-Leipzig) 2000, Distributions prize from sales 2000, The 24th Duisburg Film Week Award of the city of Duisburg for the best newcomer film Award, Bavarian State Government Documentary Award “The Young Lion” 2001, Best graduation film at the See Docs Dubrovnik festival 2001.

The fiction feature Valley of the Innocent (Tal der Ahnungslosen, 2004) had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film festival in 2003 and went on to compete in the feature film competition at FESPACO in 2005. For her documentary film The Education of Auma Obama, Okpako received the 2012 African Movie Academy Award for Best Diaspora Documentary, the Festival Founders Award for Best Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles (both in 2012), and the Viewers Choice Award at the Africa International Film Festival (2011). Her documentary-drama, The Curse of Medea (Fluch der Medea 2014), about the life of the late German writer Christa Wolf, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2014.

Branwen Okpako is Associate Professor at UC Davis in the Department of Cinema and Digital Media and is currently completing her sixth feature film entitled "Chibok Girls" based on the 2016 book of the same title by Helon Habila.

Nollywood missing as Hollywood and Bollywood shine at 64th Cannes Film Festival

Sleeping Beauty, starring Emily Browning, is one of 20 films up for the coverted Palme D'or. 64th Cannes Film Festival video © 2011 Reuters Entertainment.


As Hollywood and Bollywood stars shine at the premiere of the sexual drama "Sleeping Beauty" the toast of the Cannes Film Festival, nothing to show from Nollywood the so called second largest movie industry in the world.

The celebrated movie stars from Hollywood, Bollywood and other notable film industries from other countries are participating and competing for the coveted prizes and other attractions of the film festival. Nigeria has a pavilion at the festival, but no Nollywood movie is in competition or even out of competition.

Nollywood stars are simply unknown here.
Just appearing on the CNN or being mentioned on the Oprah Winfrey Show will make Nigerians go gaga, but what really counts is breaking the ice and making heads turn at the Cannes or Oscars and not at the Silverbird Galleria in Lagos city, Nigeria. Our Nollywood stars need to aim at shattering the highest glass ceiling as South African stars have done for decades by winning Oscars. Cinematographer Ted Moore (1914–1987) was the first South African to win an Oscar in 1967, when he also won the BAFTA for Robert Bolt’s magnificent film, A Man for All Seasons. He was from Benoni, the same town as actress Charlize Theron the first South African actor to win an Oscar in 2004 for Monster and her gripping role of serial killer Aileen Wuornos was described as "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema" by the highly esteemed American film critic and screenwriter Roger Ebert, the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. The other Oscar winning South Africans are Ronald Harwood who won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the multiple award winning The Pianist in 2003 and his other screenplay The Diving Bell and the Butterfly had four Oscar nominations in 2007, and Gavin Hood who got the Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film with Tsotsi in 2005.

In fact no Nigerian TV knows what is going at the Cannes, except few of the notable Nigerian journalists/film critics like Shaibu Husseini of The Guardian, Victor Akande of The Nation and Steve Ayorinde. The others are the veteran Nigerian filmmaker and scholar Afolabi Adesanya, who is the MD/CE of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) with his delegation at the Nigerian pavilion where some of the Nigerian movie makers Like Faruk Lasaki, Kunle Afolayan, Madu Chikwendu, Fidelis Duker and others can meet and receive visitors. Today, the European media partner of Eko International Film Festival (EKOIFF), Mr. Bruno Chatelin was at the pavilion to receive an important message from Mr. Hope Obioma Opara, the President of EKOIFF. The other Nigerians here are not different from the tourists. The only Nigerian online news media reporting the Cannes Film Festival since 2005 is International Digital Post Network (IDPN) Limited publishers of 24/7 Nigeria and other niche websites. See it all only on www.247nigeria.com and get the juicy news of the red carpet in audio, video and photos.


Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan arrives on the red carpet for the screening of the film "Sleeping Beauty", in competition at the 64th Cannes Film Festival, May 12, 2011. Twenty films are competing in the May 11 to 22 cinema showcase, with a roll call including major screen stars, revered "auteur" directors and relative newcomers. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)


Jury member Uma Thurman poses during a photocall at the 64th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes on Wednesday, May 11.

You can follow the events from the opening day on 11th to the closing day on 22nd May.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, the Founder/Festival Director of Eko International Film Festival and Publisher/CEO of International Digital Post Network (IDPN) Limited,


More news on the 64th Cannes Film Festival

23:54 Hannover House Acquires Three Acclaimed International Films at Cannes Festival

20:27 TBWA\Chiat\Day New York Appoints Andy Nathan as Managing Director and Aaron Griffiths as Creative Director

17:32 L'Oréal Paris accueille Leïla Bekhti comme nouvelle Ambassadrice mondiale

15:16 Drafthouse Films, Timpson Films and Magnet Releasing to Teach Moviegoers "THE ABCs OF DEATH"

12 May 2011

12:40 Christie participe a l'ensemble des projections numeriques du 64e Festival de Cannes

08:00 Duran Duran to Perform at the European Launch of BELVEDERE PRODUCT(RED)(TM)

07:00 Duran Duran se produira à l'occasion du lancement européen de BELVEDERE PRODUCT(RED)(TM)

11 May 2011

14:00 Nexia's Film Marketing Efforts at the Cannes Film Festival Market

10 May 2011

17:24 Playboy Mansion Cannes Returns for the Cannes Film Festival

9 May 2011

23:29 THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3D REVS UP 14:03 Variety Presents The Variety Studio @ Stella Artois Lounge at the 64th Festival de Cannes

Coming Soon: 30 Day Rule, a fantastic romantic comedy

Ambitious young African American director Rahiem Shabazz is excited about his his first romantic feature the 30 Day Rule. The romantic comedy tests the premise that 'a man's lies come with an expiration date of thirty-days'.

Rahiem has directed special music videos in the US and worked on projects involving Russell Simmons, the co-founder, with Rick Rubin of successful hip-hop label Def Jam, and Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men.

He was an Executive Producer of the award winning SAG-accredited short film "The Sun Will Rise" and film consultant and casting director on "The Kissing Bandit", a full-feature film currently touring the film festival circuit. He worked as a production assistant for Tyler Perry’s "Why Did I Get Married", "Why Did I Get Married Too" and "For Colored Girls".


Rahiem Shabazz and Writer Christal Jordan

Rahiem has won 5 awards so far, including the 2007 Atlanta Hip-Hop Film Festival for his Short Film and the YGEA Award in 2010 for Video Director of The Year and he has been a notable speaker at several film festivals and received international coverage on BET, MTV and Starz In Black.

“Every hurdle I've surpassed has been leading up to this film. Over the years I've taken compliments and accolades on my writing style coupled with my cinematic vision to heart and I believe that I have a voice that needs to be heard in film, “said Rahiem Shabazz on his upcoming film 30 Day Rule.

Rahiem's company Rasha Media Group Inc specializes in filmmaking, screenwriting talent relations and strategic marketing.

View the exclusive Photo Shoot Directed by Rahiem Shabazz.




The Synopsis of 30-Day Rule

How long can a player truly get away with a lie?

30-day rule is a romantic comedy with a message that nothing in life comes without a cost. Rome, a good-looking smooth-talking brother in his mid-twenties feels he is on top of the world. He believes he can talk any woman he meets into doing what he wants them to do. He lies, schemes and cheats all in the name of scoring and feels no guilt about his actions. Best friend Trent advises Rome that there is a 30 day expiration date on the lies he tells woman and that no good will come of his evil ways and eventually he will meet his match. Enter Katina, the beautiful vixen Rome is captivated by simply because of her beauty. Unbeknownst to Rome, Katina is the female version of himself, however her feline ways give her the unfair advantage as he under estimates her agenda because of her beauty.

Sit back and enjoy the ride as both Rome and Katina learn some very important lessons that have comedic consequences and repercussions for both sides.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima