Nollywoody
Pieter Hugo has a great fictional series on Nollywood, the Nigerian Film Industry. Said to be the 3rd largest film industry in the world releases approximately 1000 movies a year – mainly onto the home VHS and VCD market.
Key to Nollywood’s explosive success is Nigerian filmmakers’ reliance on video instead of film, reducing production costs. Nigeria has virtually no formal cinemas, with about 99 per cent of screenings in informal settings, such as home theatres.
Movies are produced and marketed in the space of a week: low cost equipment, very basic scripts, actors cast the day of the shooting, “real life” locations. Despite the improvised production process, they continue to fascinate audiences.
According to UNESCO 56 per cent of Nollywood films are made in local languages, while English remains a prominent language, accounting for 44 per cent, which may contribute to Nigeria’s success in exporting its films.
Italian filmmaker Franco Sacchi toured Nollywood and made a documentary. Here’s his talk at TED:
More on the documentary can be found here
Also of interest:
Sounds RightIron Ladies of Liberia
(Hand)Made in Africa
Where Are You Go
Title race