Nollywood and the Cinema of Femi Odugbemi

Introducing the Cinema of Femi Odugbemi at Northwestern University Block Theatre by Prof. Paul Ugor

INTRODUCING THE CINEMA OF FEMI ODUGBEMI

A presentation by Professor Paul Ugor at the Block Museum Theatre, Northwestern University Evanston, Illinois on Thursday 26th October, 2017.
It’s been more than a decade and half since Prof Jonathan Haynes introduced American culture enthusiasts to the Nigerian video film industry, now popularly known as Nollywood. And since then, although Nollywood has not become part of mainstream American popular culture, it is no longer the cultural curiosity it was two decades ago. It is quite common these days to be asked about Nollywood by strangers at a bus stop, a train, a long-haul flight or a coach station. This consciousness in the American cultural imagination of Nollywood is traceable to the huge coverage that the industry has received in the media. Also, quite a lot has been written by American academics on the industry; courses about the Nigeria video film industry are now being taught in North American universities/colleges; and major festivals in the United States, Canada, the UK, France and other first world cultural circuits are beginning to feature Nollywood films. But this growing cultural interest in Nollywood still has something to do with the multiple ways in which the industry is perceived as a unique cultural wonder quite apart and different from what Americans know. It is a film industry that operates without studios; doesn’t boost of the jaw-dropping budgets associated with Hollywood production; operates with very minimal technology compared to the endless technological assets of Hollywood cinema; uses mostly non-professional actors; and yet is able to produce an astounding number of films every year—1500 films. So, the continued cultural interest that Nollywood generates amongst Americans derives from the perception that it not only different but also unconnected with the American culture industry.

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