New Nigerian Cinema
Since the early 2000s, several discussions and conferences have been held, based on how to revamp the Nigerian film industry and bring about more professionalism like it used to be in the golden era.
The Silverbird Group is the first company to launch a series of modern Cinema houses across major cities in Nigeria, mostly situated in affluent areas and districts.
The now defunct Amstel Malta Box Office production company also made several films with the aim of making a difference.
Few years into the 21st century, Nigeria began to experience the growth of cinemas, which was initially structured for the middle and upper class.
The Silverbird Group is the first company to launch a series of modern Cinema houses across major cities in Nigeria, mostly situated in affluent areas and districts.
The Silverbird Galleria is a large shopping mall, with an upscale cinema facility and various outlets where mercantile activities take place.
[3] Other films that benefitted from one "Project Nollywood" grant or another include: Flower Girl (2013), Half of a Yellow Sun (2013) and The Department (2015).
[35] In 2015, the Bank of Industry (BOI) launched another "NollyFund" program for the purpose of giving financial support in form of loans to film producers.
A NollyFund Implementation Advisory Group was set up for the program, in order to ensure that only commercially viable scripts with good storylines benefit from the scheme.
[36][37] The popular 2009 thriller film The Figurine is generally considered the game changer, which heightened the media attention towards "New Nigerian Cinema" revolution.
It contributed about 1.4% to Nigeria's economy;[42] this was attributed to the increase in the number of quality films produced and more formal distribution methods.
[5] Other notable improvements in the New Nollywood include: more subtle performances from actor, different from the overt melodrama which constituted the video era; more practical; more logical and generally better stories.
[48] The Figurine, for example has a narrative which contains supernatural themes similar to the average video film; it is however concluded with an inconclusive logical twist which has been subjected to analytical debates.
[3][4][39] Some other filmmakers have also turned the way of targeting foreign developed markets, by featuring foreign cast members – examples: Black November (2012) by Jeta Amata, Doctor Bello (2013) by Tony Abulu and Half of a Yellow Sun (2013) by Biyi Bandele;[40][45][55][56][57] this strategy, which initially seemed like the "easy way out" has however been deemed unsustainable, and most of the films in fact were not able to break even in the targeted markets.
From early years of the New Wave till present day, DVD is considered a "no go" area, due to the prevalent copyright infringement in the country.
[60] Not too long after the New Nigerian Cinema movement was embraced, the malaise of copyright violation quickly caught up with movies made in this era as well.
[64][65] The cause of copyright violation has been attributed to various factors, which include: poor content management by distributors, who fail to implement the available "anti-piracy strategies and tools", and also laxity from the government.
[62] National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) had put in place several policies to curb infringement, many of which had little or no impact.
Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) also became active in pursuing infringers, instituting projects such as "Strategic Action Against Piracy (STRAP)".
[54] However, it was reported that the bootleggers, who are mostly located in Alaba market, a very congested and disorganized area, have often resisted arrest by law enforcement officials, whom they usually engage in fierce battles by employing all manners of dangerous weapons.
AVRS is a Collective Management Organization set up to help prevent creative works from being duplicated and overused by unauthorised bodies.
