Recently I sent Mr. Uba Atlkins Onyenedum, an internet acquaintance
from Nigeria, an article issued by The Director's Chair. That
article was written by Shirley Okwi, University of Uganda,
where she says that African films are primarily didactic (dealing
with moral issues). Uba's heartfelt response was so truthful,
so meaningful to all of us in the business of making films,
that I felt it deserved to be shown to others as inspiration.
Some of his notes about the financing of films is a universal
lament - see if you agree with me.
RE:
AFRICAN CINEMA
I find the “Overview article” written by Shirley
Okwi on AFRICAN CINEMA interesting and think that it elicits
a reaction such as the one I am offering hereunder. Africa
is rich with stories that, when shot into films, can linger
in the minds of their viewers for a long time. Good films
are like good music. They transcend all language barriers.
African cinema should be encouraged, viewed as moving, and
not simply dismissed as “static and naïve”.
As a Nigerian living in Nigeria and having experienced the
birth of the movie industry here and its concomitant “flared
up” (using the words of Shirley) growth, I honestly
think that there are issues and recent developments within
Nigeria and by extension Africa, which Shirley missed out
on.
It is true
that African films are didactic. The African culture, which
is generally simplistic (unsophisticated) is largely responsible.
Africa’s literacy level is sorrowfully low compared
to the rest of the world. However, many films coming out
from Nigeria are starting to tell the stories by themselves,
which is indicative that there is a hunger and a sincere
intention to get better. We are aware that a good film should
tell its story. I think that Nigeria is quietly pioneering
this transition.
Truly, Nigerian movies are made for home consumption but
in its short history, the emphasis has never been on colonialism
but rather on socio-cultural issues and dilemmas. If writers
write from their social and cultural experiences and backgrounds,
then the movies naturally respond to the tastes of the people
at whom the stories are targeted.
Very often,
return on investment is what powers any business and from
that perspective, social issues of ritual murder of fellow
human beings in order to use their various parts to make
medicine for material wealth, and marital sex scandals,
are part of the big attractions in Nigeria today. These
social topics are not included in Shirley’s periscope.
I strongly submit that Nigeria and the rest of the English-speaking
West African coasts have left behind the thematic covered
by Shirley. Maybe, elsewhere in Africa, they are still brooding
over and dwelling in the past (colonial and neo-colonial
themes) and by so doing, they are missing the privileges
of today and the opportunities of tomorrow. This is not
so in Nigeria and Ghana and some other English-speaking
African countries. (I must admit that I am totally ignorant
about the film industry in the French-speaking African countries).
I have watched many Nigerian and Ghanaian films. The good
thing coming from both countries is the strong co-operation
between them. Nigerian actors are not only now co-acting
with their Ghanaian counterparts, they go over to Ghana
to shoot Nigerian scripts. The result is obviously that
the markets of both countries are being rapidly expanded.
This means more profit to the stake holders.
May I state here that the average Nigerian viewer is starting
to yearn for films with better plot, settings and good technical
quality. The people would appreciate a good story and even
Nigerian screen writers are beginning to develop the mind
set for stories with a substantial measure of intricate
depth; but, the obstacles are mountainous in nature and
they include:
First, Nigerian Directors are neophytes, untrained and are
also extremely constrained by a serious lack of funds (already
cited). The technical aspect of film making in Nigeria is,
to say the least, non existent. Imagine shooting a film
with a single 16 mm camera. Little is known here about how
to professionally have a comprehensive film budget. Project
implementation is usually adhoc and this is not good for
the industry.
Second, today’s Nigerian movie industry is totally
financed and controlled by uneducated traders who, though
are strikingly rich, would never get into funding a film
the plot of which is way beyond their unschooled minds.
For this class, a plot must be pedestal or mundane. They
don’t care that a story is so neatly plotted that it
can win an international nomination. Their interest is to
keep any story local and within the understanding and easy
assimilation of the huge illiterate populace. They don’t
give a damn about technical quality.
A more pitiable ancillary to the Directors’ dilemma
is that a lot of times, these illiterate financiers usurp
the Director’s job. They decide the actors, sequence
of shootings and the duration. An entire shooting is usually
completed in seven days without much chance of “re-takes”.
It is their money and their distribution network. This is
part of the bane of our industry.
Third, if one adds those issues listed in the earlier part
of this write up to the two above, one can then better understand
why the industry in Nigeria is stuck at the “home consumption”.
Nigerians
are good copycats and therefore, have no problem learning
new tricks. Meanwhile, in the present Nigerian movie industry,
everybody is self-taught and this is not a good foundation
for any quality film production but the zeal is hot. “OSUFIA
IN LONDON”, shot in London and Nigeria, became an instant
hit for not only Nigerians living in Nigeria but even for
those resident in the UK. It grossed a lot of foreign exchange.
There are a few more of these home made movies with marginal
artistic quality. Some of our actors possess potentials
that can be easily exploited. They only need the right grooming.
This is no exaggeration.
In Nigeria, the bone is to find investors who will go beyond
these illiterate financiers, and look into the future of
that which has the potential to be the country’s third
major foreign exchange earner. With a population of over
one hundred and twenty million, and a highly resourceful
people, the Nigerian film industry will grow and even win
Oscar (This country has a huge internal market just like
America).
This will
become real the very day there steps forward investors that
are willing to seriously consider good stories and then
go ahead to take the normal business risk. Once the initiative
is taken away from the present crop of indigenous investors,
the global industry will be surprised at the number of beautiful
scripts from this country. Then we will no longer be a home
consumption industry. Many writers in Nigeria are already
working on stories that go beyond the stereotypes but they
need a lot of “backing up” and an assurance that
attempts will be made to tackle those inhibiting factors
already afore-cited.
-Uba Atkins Onyenedum, Nigerian Writer and Philosopher.
To email Uba click
here. To read an excerpt of Uba's voice, click here
They
Came.
