The Nollywood gritty thriller topping Netflix global figures ANALYSIS | EZINNE EZEPUE | Nigerian thriller The Black Book has been in the headlines for reportedly topping global figures at streaming service Netflix, with 5.6 million viewers in its first two days. Does it live up to the hype? In my view, as …
Read More »The Black Book: How Nigeria’s fintech elite fuelled Nollywood’s first Netflix chart topper
The success of the Nollywood thriller proves that the match of movie production with well-heeled Nigerian fintech superstars is a marriage made in heaven. The Black Book has trended at number one on Netflix in countries as diverse as Greece, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Luxembourg, South Korea, Sweden and of course, …
Read More »Lights, camera, action: Idris Elba boost to Swahili film industry
Tanzania’s rapidly growing ‘Bongo’ film industry is going full steam ahead, with British actor Idris Elba planning a major film studio in the country Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | BIRD AGENCY | British actor Idris Elba plans to open a major film studio in Tanzania after holding initial talks with …
Read More »Nollywood produces 541 movies in Q1, up 42 pct from Q4 2021
Abuja, Nigeria | Xinhua | Nigeria’s film industry produced 541 movies in the first quarter of 2022, a 41.6 percent surge from the previous quarter’s 382 titles, the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) said on Friday. The NFVCB is a government agency responsible for the regulation of the …
Read More »Nigeria’s Nollywood gets creative to cope with virus crisis
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | As coronavirus closed businesses around the world and forced billions to stay home, Nigerian director Obi Emelonye came up with an innovative way to keep filming. Inspired by his wife’s teleconferencing calls from their isolation in Britain, he wrote and put together a short feature about …
Read More »Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry reels in foreign investors
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s film industry, dubbed Nollywood, has long kept viewers entertained with tales of romance and riches, and now foreign investors are increasingly looking for a part of the action. US giant Netflix, France’s Canal+ and China’s StarTimes are among those making moves in the globe’s second …
Read More »Nigeria: African giant struggling with poverty, unrest
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria, which elects a new president on February 16, is Africa’s most populous nation and leading oil producer but is dogged by poverty and insecurity. – People and penury – More than 190 million people live in the West African nation. The UN estimates it …
Read More »