Nollywood has lengthy been celebrated as one of many fastest-growing movie industries on the earth, with over 2,000 movies produced yearly, inserting it on par with Hollywood and Bollywood when it comes to output.
But, regardless of its success, the trade continues to battle with restricted entry to sustainable funding.
For Nora Awolowo, an award-winning cinematographer and founding father of Rixel Studios, Nollywood’s future hinges on a vital shift: transferring away from over-reliance on exterior entities and towards self-sustaining progress.
In an unique interview with Nairametrics, Awolowo shares her expertise navigating a male-dominated discipline throughout the trade, in addition to her insights on how Nollywood can thrive independently by investing in its personal infrastructure.
Nairametrics: Nora, let’s begin with the start: How did you transition from accounting to filmmaking?
Nora Awolowo: I began as a photographer, after which I progressively moved into filmmaking. I already had mates in Nollywood, and I noticed a chance to affix the trade. I started working behind the scenes, talking to a few of my mates, most of whom I met on Twitter. I used to be very lively on Twitter on the time, and that’s how I received began.
Nairametrics: As a lady in a male-dominated discipline like cinematography, what challenges have you ever confronted, and the way have you ever navigated them?
Nora Awolowo: I don’t suppose I’ve confronted many challenges on set itself. The main hurdle is definitely getting a job that aligns with what I would like at a selected interval. As soon as I’m on set, it’s simple, although bodily demanding. Filmmaking is labour-intensive you should be current on set, typically for 12-hour days, and also you’re often locked right into a shoot for a mean of 3-6 weeks. There are off days, usually after six or seven consecutive days of labor.
In Nollywood, this type of schedule is frequent, particularly for assistant administrators or these in related roles. It’s a back-to-back grind, with many individuals transferring instantly from one set to a different. Most of your time is spent away from house. For example, in case your name time is at 7 a.m., you may not wrap till 14 hours later. On huge days, particularly with motion scenes, the schedule is much more packed. Typically you’re taking pictures by way of the night time or for prolonged hours. Regardless of how passionate you might be, this type of routine takes a toll—it’s exhausting.
Nairametrics: What are the working circumstances like for you on set as a cinematographer?
Nora Awolowo: The circumstances are rigorous and require lots of stamina. It’s a must to be prepared for lengthy hours, night time shoots, and back-to-back schedules. It’s a bodily and mentally demanding job, however with a dependable workforce, it turns into manageable.
Nairametrics: Your upcoming mission Crimson Circle encompasses a star-studded forged and is directed by Akay Mason. How did the partnership for this motion thriller come about?
Nora Awolowo: I had an thought for a movie, and due to my expertise within the trade, I used to be capable of carry it to life. Everybody in my circle grew collectively in Nollywood, so I reached out to individuals who I knew might contribute to the mission.
A whole lot of them have been on board as a result of they believed within the thought, and that resonated with the collaborators as nicely. As soon as we made the official announcement, everybody got here to set able to carry their A-game. The crew nonetheless talks about how collaborative the expertise was, which for me, is likely one of the greatest takeaways. In fact, storytelling was crucial and I needed to always make checks to make sure I delivered the outcomes and objective I set out and ensure there was no compromise on my finish. Everybody who took an opportunity and purchased into my thought.
Nairametrics: How did you deal with balancing funds and logistics with a forged that features each veterans and rising stars?
Nora Awolowo: From the ideation stage, we held story workshops to flesh out the characters, which helped us establish the proper individuals for every position. We managed to get about 80% of the forged we initially reached out to.
As a producer, your job is to get individuals to purchase into your imaginative and prescient. I partnered with Abdul Tijani, who was the author and co-producer, and collectively, we dealt with the logistics and funds. Everybody concerned had labored on among the greatest movies in Nigeria, so it was a extremely collaborative effort.
Nairametrics: What was probably the most difficult a part of managing Crimson Circle’s manufacturing prices and logistics?
Nora Awolowo: I approached the movie with the mindset that I used to be going to get pleasure from myself, irrespective of the challenges. For example, on some shoot days, we had struggle sequences to movie in Oshodi—a bustling and chaotic atmosphere. Typically I’m awake until previous 2am fixing issues or simply ensuring we’re all set for the subsequent day. Signed up for it anyway. Fortunately, I had a dependable workforce, which made it simpler to delegate and handle duties.
In Oshodi, the challenges have been fixed. The realm was crowded, and the local people had their calls for. We had safety brokers on the bottom to keep up order, however we nonetheless needed to cope with points like hiding the actors when the state of affairs received too overwhelming.
After managing all that, we additionally needed to tackle the “space boys” (native road boys), who anticipated compensation for permitting us to shoot of their territory. It was a fragile stability of managing the logistics, making certain everybody’s security, and preserving the manufacturing on observe.
Nairametrics: With Netflix scaling again its investments within the trade, how do you see this reshaping the way forward for Nollywood, and what alternatives does it current for native stakeholders?
Nora Awolowo: The dialog has shifted to a important query: How will we construct our personal infrastructure? For the longest time, many people thought these exterior platforms have been our saviors. However the actuality is, if we don’t put money into the trade ourselves, different gamers will come, take what they want, and go away.
As I’ve talked about, this trade is pushed primarily by personal gamers. Maybe, this case will encourage extra filmmakers to return to the cinemas and provides their finest shot at it to return to the cinemas, which continues to be a robust platform for showcasing our work. No matter what occurs, we all know there’ll all the time be an viewers for our tales.
From a broader perspective, that is really good for the trade as a result of it pushes each stakeholder to unite and have interaction extra with the federal government and gamers. Latest developments have put the federal government on its toes, they usually’re now being pressured to acknowledge the significance of its position.
We have to acknowledge that streaming platforms are right here primarily for enterprise. Their cutbacks have reminded us that we will’t rely solely on exterior entities. All eyes are actually on the federal government, alongside personal stakeholders, to work collectively and create a extra sustainable ecosystem for the trade.
Nairametrics: Movies like Jagun Jagun and Agesinkole have reshaped perceptions of Yoruba movies. What’s your tackle this evolution?
Nora Awolowo: To start with, shout out to the producers behind these movies. For individuals like us who grew up watching Yoruba movies, it’s inspiring to see how far the trade has come. Motion pictures like King of Thieves and Anikulapo reignited curiosity in Yoruba tales, they usually’ve proven that with elevated budgets and improved manufacturing high quality, the chances are limitless.
This evolution highlights the significance of taking dangers and investing in native tales. The trade is essentially private-driven, and it’s nice to see personal gamers stepping as much as elevate the dimensions and high quality of those movies. This progress has even caught the federal government’s consideration, which is a step in the proper path for the trade as an entire.
