Facts About Nigerian Movies

Here is the Information about Nigerian movies and the industry, this is my own little history of the Nigerian movie industry that is already spun into the big name - Nollywood. Nollywood is the Nigerian version of Hollywood, which has grown to earn the third place in the world's movie making industries.

Movies production in Nigeria started over fifty years ago, and the name Nollywood most likely shot the industry to limelight as well as the works of focused and talented Nigerians who believed in the dream of having a movie industry that would stand shoulder to shoulder with what we have in America and India - by that, I am talking of Hollywood and Bollywood

The production of movies in Nigeria started with two foreign companies in the late sixties - Latola Films (1962) and Calpeny Nigeria Ltd. As far back as the eighties, Nigerian movies were either short plays or culled from a major book written by one of Nigeria’s great writers.

The success of Nigerian movies did not happen without its own ups and down, there were problems of finance and adequate equipments, as at 1980 only few people were willing to go into movie production or throw a dime in it, not until the out-burst of movie stars in the industry, ordinary people who went into the industry with nothing started building good houses and driving posh cars.

"The Yoruba Travelling Theatre Group" had the first set of men that actually ventured into movie production in Nigeria as far back as 1970, the group was made up of men like; Ola Balogun, Eddie Ugbomah, Adeyemi Afolayan a.k.a Ade Love (father of Kunle Afolayan of the Irapada fame), Ladi Ladebo, late Hurbert Ogunde, Adebayo Salami, Moses Adejumo and Afolabi Adesanya these men produced movies like Kongi Harvest and several other which of course had very little fame.

Personally, my first impression of Nigerian movies was a movies produced by Mike Orinhedinma with several other Igbo artist in the early nineties, there are lot of facts about Nigerian movies that is not visible to most people that now crave Nollywood movies.

Most people in Nigerian would tell you that the first movie ever made in Nigeria was "Living in bondage" but actually, there were a lot that never saw the limelight. The movie "living in Bondage" played a significant role in the rising of Nollywood, the movie was shot with VHS camera and produced by kenneth Nnebue alongside the like of Kanayo o Kanayo, Rita Nzelu, Kenneth Okonkwo several others.

The movies were the first Nigeria movie that was actually recognized in Diaspora.

The Nigerian movie industry has thrived from dream of few men to the third largest film industry in the world churning out about 200 new movies every other month. The industry has grown in terms of man power and technical know-how; People with more training ventured into the industry and made it what it is today.

There are lots of people that the the history of Nigerian film industry will not be written without their names being inscribed alongside, the likes of Kenneth Nnebue  - the producer and co-actor in the first Nigerian successful movie – Living in bondage, others includes Fred Amata, Teco Benson, Nkem Owoh, Pete Edochie,  Ngozi Nwosu and several others.