Gremlin Attack

Have been unable to blog for a few days now due to a gremlin attack on my ISP's server but hopefully am back now!

All About Jenifa!

My dear friend, D' Gbonj, just brought to my remembrance this article I have always thought about writing. She asked if I had watched Jenifa the movie & I responded, who hasn't? I think that most Nigerians residing within and without the country must have heard, seen or read about the phenomenon called Jenifa.

I wont be talking about the storyline, directing, technical quality of the movie or any other aspects save for the character development particularly that of the lead female role, Jenifa, aptly depicted by Fnke Akindele. As a general rule, I never watch "Nollywood" movies. I may be in the same room as someone else watching but I just see the pictures nothing they say or do ever gets thru to me. But I was intrigued by the rave Jenifa was creating and decided to sit in on a viewing. 

The movie was a typical Nollywood microwave film, nothing spectacular (needless to say, I didnt bother to see part 2) but the only thing that the movie had which sets it apart from the others was its character development. One of the many things that the Nigerian film industry lacks is the ability to create characters that leap out of the movie and you can relate with. Characters with depth, characters with a past that you can write a thesis on. Jenifa is a character, period. You can see where she is coming from, where she is going to. You can describe her qualities - bold, fearless, intelligent. She is someone you can relate to - a village girl trying to fit in to the city, oblivious of her razzness/bushness. Funke Akindele did an excellent job portraying her. Kudos to her. I haven't seen such a character since maybe Osuofia. Another interesting observation is that Jenifa has gained wide acceptance & viewership amongst a diverse population of Nigerians - young & old, educated & illiterate, rich & poor, artisans & executives - dont be surprised to see a young executive saying Sulia kan, Ayetoro kan or that fine chick telling a co-worker 'Hin Woo' (dont mind my spelling). Or your girlfriend displaying her 'shori shori' aka dot dot no your next date. Things came to a head when a female friend of mine from Delta who doesnt speak and only understands a few words of Yoruba went out to buy the CDs & was determined to watch based on the fascinating stuff she had heard from her co-workers.

I sometimes wonder how Jenifa would have fared within a better organised film industry. Imagine if we had 100 theatres dotting the landscape of this country, Jenifa would have led the box office on its opening weekend and I'm sure it would still be in the top 10. It would be a blockbuster, raking in millions of naira.

I do not work within the film industry but I belive that things can be better. Stakeholders (that word is very common here in Nigeria, when politicians & policy makers speak) should be ready and willing to change the status quo. There are two things that are holding us back however - one is the highly regarded opinion that we are the third largest film industry in the world (behind Hollywood & Bollywood). This statement has made us sit back and rest on our oars. I ask myself, third largest in terms of what? Quality? The only thing I can think of is volume, that's all. Secondly, is the oft spouted remarks that it took Hollywood over a hundred years to attain what it has. The inference is that we should wait for a hundred years before we see some quality movies from 'Nollywood'. They say that we have achieved so much in just a few years (their 3rd position) and given some decades they would be world beaters. This is highly infuriating in this day and age when technological advances in combination with a determintion to succeed has allowed less developed countries to at least match the developed ones in many facets of life.

Prof Akunyili has embarked upon another white elephant project - "rebranding Nigeria". The funds meant to be spent on this would be better channeled into Nollywood. Consider this - India has spent several years and millions of dollars on an "Incredible India" project (their version of branding India). That project has not had as much impact on the rest of the world as Slumdog Millionaire, winner of 8 Oscars has. Slumdog, although portraying poverty in India, has placed India at the vanguard of artistic discourse worldwide. Nigeria has many stories to tell but who will tell them for us other than ourselves? Can we attract filmmakers to come and make a film here in Nigeria?

We need an attitudinal change to rid ourselves of these mental limitations. We also need to take a look at the existing industry and decide, after extensive review, where to build new structures and strengthen the ones on ground. These changes must cut across board - from production to distribution, marketing to technical input, manpower to regulation. 

Today is a new day!

Well today is a new day! I have finally decided to take on blogging again after a long absence and several failed attempts. It's good to be back. I intend to present my points-of-view on diverse subjects in my home country, Nigeria and worldwide. Here's my first post ... so baby steps from now on.