{"id":2327,"date":"2006-03-25T14:09:00","date_gmt":"2006-03-25T14:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/03\/church-takes-nigerian-film-industry-by-storm\/"},"modified":"2006-03-25T14:09:00","modified_gmt":"2006-03-25T14:09:00","slug":"church-takes-nigerian-film-industry-by-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/03\/church-takes-nigerian-film-industry-by-storm.html","title":{"rendered":"Church takes Nigerian film industry by storm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Mark Steyn<\/a> mentioned a few months ago that Nigeria \u201cnow has the third biggest film industry in the world, after Hollywood and Bollywood.\u201d What he didn\u2019t mention \u2014 but I guess it was inevitable \u2014 is that the Nigerian film industry now goes by the name \u201cNollywood\u201d. And now, the Associated Press<\/a> reports that one church has been taking the industry by storm:<\/span><\/p>\n

Now playing across Nigeria: The saga of a church that self-produced a few films and became an instant mogul in the country\u2019s giant movie marketplace known as Nollywood.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the latest and perhaps most audacious foray into mass culture by the Redeemed Christian Church of God<\/a>. In less than a year, the church\u2019s Dove Studios has gone from Nollywood greenhorns to barons.<\/p>\n

Dove has several hits under its belt, a pile of scripts from Nollywood\u2019s top filmmakers and the foundations for a nationwide distribution network that eventually could give it make-or-break influence over the entire industry which churns out more than a dozen new films on DVDs and videos each week and is the principal entertainment market in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking to make crossover movies,\u201d said Ope Banwo, head of the church\u2019s World Dove Media Plc., which includes a satellite television division, a celebrity-oriented magazine and state-of-the-art studios that produce music videos and other works. \u201cOur idea was to use popular, secular actors so the guy on the street doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s coming at him. \u2026 We\u2019re softly getting him to watch evangelism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church stormed into Nollywood with its first four movies last year, including the English-language \u201cThe AIDS Patient\u201d about an infected woman cured by the Holy Spirit and \u201cAgan\u201d (or \u201cNone Shall be Barren\u201d), a story in the local Yoruba language about a pastor and his wife who finally conceive a baby after deep prayer.<\/p>\n

The films fit in well with one of the traditional themes of Nollywood: people overcoming odds and good triumphing over evil.<\/p>\n

More than 50,000 copies of the Dove movies have been sold, which is a runaway success by Nollywood standards. Next up: a $460,000 production about the history of the Redeemed Church.<\/p>\n

Banwo\u2019s desk has stacks of scripts from established Nollywood directors. The reason, he said, is Dove\u2019s strategy to build Nigeria\u2019s first, large-scale movie distribution infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Despite Nollywood\u2019s prolific output, there is no network to send the DVDs and videos around the vast nation of more than 120 million people. In March, Dove began finalizing a deal to sell its films at post offices across Nigeria. Dove also is studying ways to use its thousands of parishes to market the movies.<\/p>\n

Dove won\u2019t turn away other studios\u2019 film for distribution. But there\u2019s a catch, said Banwo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe movies would have to have Christian resolutions or a moral theme,\u201d he said. \u201cSo in that way we could influence Nollywood.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Click here<\/a> for another AP story on the church involved here.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: Thanks to Ellen Collison for pointing me to this article<\/a> on Nollywood from a November 2003 issue of the Washington Post<\/i>:<\/p>\n

Simba International Records just can\u2019t keep enough Nigerian movies in stock these days. Teenagers swarm into the Langley Park shop in baggy jeans and T-shirts for the latest comedies. Middle-aged women usually want the romances.<\/p>\n

In one of the more popular films, \u201cWho Killed Okomfo Anokye,\u201d a wealthy, born-again Christian shoos away his younger brother, a shanty-dwelling voodoo priest, with a swift wave of the Bible, and a sharp verbal rebuke. \u201cYou are no longer my brother,\u201d the older man declares. \u201cHe\u2019s evil!\u201d <\/p>\n

These English-language Nigerian movies are gaining popularity among the nation\u2019s fast-growing African immigrant population, offering their very Americanized children a glimpse of African life, particularly the clash of modernity and traditionalism and the battle between fundamentalist Christian, Islamic and tribal religions that is sweeping the African continent. . . .<\/p>\n

Some film experts remain skeptical that the Nigerian movies will penetrate the broader U.S. market. Jonathan Haynes, a Long Island University professor and author of the book, \u201cNigerian Video Films,\u201d noted the films\u2019 heavy emphasis on the supernatural and said, \u201cCulturally, they\u2019re from someplace else.\u201d In \u201cWho Killed Okomfo Anokye,\u201d for instance, the voodoo priest lashes a dead man\u2019s body with oils and leaves, then chants in a tribal language. A woman prays in tongues. Seconds later, the man rises. The woman praises the Lord, waving her Bible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat can seem weird to Americans, especially if it\u2019s not being cast as part of some traditional African past,\u201d Haynes said. \u201cIt\u2019s an acquired taste.\u201d . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Given that acclaimed African movies have been based on the lives of Jesus<\/a> and the Genesis patriarchs<\/a>, I can only wonder if these Nigerian filmmakers will turn their efforts towards Bible adaptations, too. Or perhaps one of them has already done this\u2026?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Steyn mentioned a few months ago that Nigeria \u201cnow has the third biggest film industry in the world, after Hollywood and Bollywood.\u201d What he didn\u2019t mention \u2014 but I guess it was inevitable \u2014 is that the Nigerian film industry now goes by the name \u201cNollywood\u201d. And now, the Associated Press reports that one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nChurch takes Nigerian film industry by storm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mark Steyn mentioned a few months ago that Nigeria "now has the third biggest film industry in the world, after Hollywood and Bollywood." 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