Kikachi Memeh

The four-day summit themed ‘Streaming Wars: The Implications on Future of Content Monetisation for Film and TV Content’ is a parley of conversation starters by current industry players about the after-effects of Nollywood’s current streaming boom.&nbsp;

While these industry changemakers need to start active conversations about the near future of the business of the Nigerian Film Industry, it’s also crucial to hear from the new voices stepping into the industry.&nbsp;

As Nollywood spews out its new generation of filmmakers each year, one can’t help but wonder what the near future of Nollywood might look like in the fresh eyes of its young industry players.&nbsp;

Fiyin Gambo - Director

First things first, I think it’s never been a more exciting time to be in Nollywood than now, especially because of the kind of attention the industry is getting. In the space of three years, we’ve seen streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Showmax, with rumors that Disney is entering the space, buying and commissioning content.

The playing field is also getting more leveled with social media and how affordable it is to make a film these days because what truly makes a film is a story.

A young kid can make a film from his dorm room and post it on Youtube and become the next big director or filmmaker or actor. I say looking to the future there are a lot more opportunities to find new voices that have never been heard before.

I’m also happy because there’s going to be a higher demand for story variety from our audiences. Producers mostly stick with safe stories that have proven box office success, but with Twitter and other social media platforms, we’re getting instant audience feedback and they’ve let us know the kind of films they want.

They let us know they don’t just want comedy, but they want action or fantasy. It’s interesting to see how these numbers will translate at the box office. The current investment in the technical education of craftsmen in the industry gives people more opportunities to hone their crafts.

The future of Nollywood will see an influx of more skilled industry people and that really excites me.

Funmbi Toye- Actor

When I think about the future of Nollywood as a young emerging actor, I think we’re headed in the right direction. There’s a lot of hope for Nollywood in terms of opportunities, audience reach, and distribution.

Consistency is proving to be the key to where we’re headed, and it's the one thing I know that is paving the way for us to be seen and heard in the global sphere. Now more than before, we’re making a lot of art that has longevity and lasting factors.

The spotlight is also starting to shine on niche filmmakers and actors that have their distinct types of stories to tell alongside the big names (in terms of talents and production companies).

Proper structure we can all benefit from within the industry is something that I look forward to and once we start inching towards that, I see this growing into something more fulfilling and beautiful soon.&nbsp;

Chisom Ifeakandu - Producer

The future of Nollywood is here! If you had asked the pioneers 30+ ago what they thought Nollywood would be like now, they probably wouldn’t suggest what Is currently happening.

The industry has grown from using basic DSLRs to using the biggest film cameras. More and more people are beginning to gain an interest in some part of filmmaking as a career. And I think for me, that is one of the best things to occur.

The Nollywood that I see coming forth is another concept entirely. I see a Nollywood that enjoys the same attention that our music counterparts are enjoying.&nbsp;

Our industry seems to be selfish with growth and it looks like there is some form of competition going on within the small walls of the industry. I see a Nollywood where more collaborative work is done.

I see a Nollywood that is intent on telling the stories that are true to us. (I’m speaking of our deep cultural identity). I see an industry where there is increased access to watching films that are being made for everyone to watch, not just a select few.

I see a Nollywood where its practitioners are [better] represented by some union, where activities are regulated properly to favor everyone.

Motunde Yahya - Editor

The future is looking good, the young people are coming in and with new technology and tools, the work is a bit easier now.&nbsp;I’m really happy to see our movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Nollywood movies have their lapses but they’re getting better each day. For me I see Nollywood walking towards a time where filmmakers really understand the essence of editors.

An editor is only as good as their director and a director is only as good as their editor. That's why it's a collaboration, not a competition.

I look forward to one where editors pay attention to continuity, sound design, dialogue sound, and things like that because they really matter. When you see a good film that flows well, you’re seeing good editing.

The future of Nollywood needs editors who understand the art and science of the craft. Like Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese and George Lucas say “editors write the last draft of a script”. Editing goes beyond cut and join, and really involves the editor to actually feel the story.

Adakole The Great - Actor

Many young actors have a lot of belief in the future of Nollywood because we’re all witnessing a global embrace of our content. With a lot of people currently buying into Nollywood, the industry is gradually developing itself from within.

As older generation filmmakers are beginning to finally trust the crafts of younger generation filmmakers, I believe what’s in store for the future of Nollywood will be seemingly insurmountable feats.

Storytelling itself has also transported Nollywood to the international league in the last few years, giving the hidden gems the Nigerian film industry is riddled with, a chance to shine on global platforms.

I also see a future where actors are involved in the back-end finances of films. Meaning that actors will more often be considered when films generate subsequent income from initial payment.

Chado Eyitayo - Film Marketer&nbsp;

The marketing space in Nollywood, I think has a really bright future ahead because for me the last one or two years have been a rollercoaster. The projects I've worked on have been able to get across to a much larger audience.

The kind of marketing that went into the likes of King of Boys, Blood Sisters, and others have given these stories a greater amount of eyes and also access to similar African stories.

With the introduction of international production and streaming companies, the huge marketing budgets ensures that a large dispersed audience gets to be aware of more of our stories and also actually have access to these films.

In a case where multiple streaming services acquire and fund local titles, the marketing budgets and campaigns for some of these titles will be astronomical.&nbsp;

The future also sees an introduction of other big players in the industry to allow our titles to be seen in regions we don’t even expect.

In terms of storytelling, we have very amazing scriptwriters and with the influx of those big players in the industry, we’re sure to have more authentic stories churned out, stories that can compete with other global stories.

The third edition of the Nigeria International Film & TV Summit (NiFS) holding at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja gathers hundreds of Nigerian Film Industry players.

Young Nigerian filmmakers on the future of Nollywood

The film is 110 minutes of wishfully hoping the story takes off properly. The synopsis of the film according to Inkblot Productions is; “Tade (Sharon Ooja), a free-spirited scion of a respected political family, is living her best life and without a care in the world.

Things get complicated when she develops feelings for Chidi (Bovi Ugboma), a fast-rising politician who also happens to be her EX, and Cheta (Pere Egbi), her best friend. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Chidi (Bovi Ugboma) and Cheta (Pere Egbi) are brothers.

The Perfect Arrangement is a romantic drama about finding yourself and your true love in the most awkward of circumstances.” Their exact words, not mine.

That being said, the film is riddled with several potholes that don't align with the synopsis.

For starters the film hardly pays attention to the romance between the protagonists, rather it spends a large chunk of its minutes playing out the political arrangement between the Kalejaiyes and Obikwes and only sporadically sprinkles scenes of Tade lamenting her dilemma about falling in love with two brothers.

The film starts off with an introduction to Tade (Sharon Ooja) and Chidi’s (Bovi Ugboma) blissful relationship, despite knowing her Bestfriend, Chidi’s brother Cheta (Pere Egbi), had been in love with her for years.

Long story short, Chidi (Bovi Ugboma) and Tade end up breaking up a year later because Chidi (Bovi Ugboma) was about to pursue his political dreams of being the governor of Anambra state.

Tade begs to keep the relationship going but Chidi (Bovi Ugboma) insists the breakup is for the best. No problem. Five years down the line, it seems Chidi (Bovi Ugboma)&nbsp;and Tade (Sharon Ooja) have been out of contact, and Tade (Sharon Ooja) had been building her fashion brand and living her best life with still best friend Cheta (Pere Egbi).

All of a sudden, she decides to arrange a marriage between herself and Chidi in order to save her family from financial ruin and to gain favor from the President. Inasmuch as that&nbsp;

Asides from the storyline being an almost absolute miss from the synopsis, the story felt grossly underdeveloped. The film ought to have begun by involving us in the lives of Tade and Cheta to give us a peek into the dynamics of their friendship that would have heavy with romantic undertones.

That would have proven or even hinted to us that she does really love him romantically and always had deep down. Because asides from the kiss (which was shared while she was drunk) there’s no real identifier of mutual love between the two.

In reality, it’s actually a case of unrequited love from Cheta to Tade.&nbsp;

The failure to build on Tade and Cheta’s friendship robbed the audience of the chance to also empathize with Tade and equally feel torn apart by her situation. The audience is expected to also fall in love with both brothers and feel the heat of the dilemma.

An example of a better-executed love triangle can be seen in Jade Osiberu’s classic rom-com Isoken. The film gave us a balanced amount of romance from both sides of the triangle, in order to make the audience feel they too had a say in the protagonist’s choice.

The Perfect Arrangement didn't offer its audience the pleasure of reveling in the double-dosed romance that the entire film was expected to be revolved around.&nbsp;

Also, in regards to Chidi and Tade’s said love, it was difficult to even feel a little pull towards Chidi and Tade’s relationship because it also still felt very unrequited. Left to me, I would say she didn't love any of them, she only merely loved the thought of having two brothers love her.

This is mainly because her actions never matched her words. SHE proposed the arranged marriage between herself and Chidi - which to be fair, we saw coming, the moment she magically thought of an on-the-spot solution to Chidi’s sex scandal (one I wondered why she cared so much about).

After proposing such a hefty, hasty sacrifice on her part, she went on to constantly play the victim in the situation. By continuously claiming she ‘needed to do this for her family’ while carrying a long face around Chidi, it was difficult to believe she had any real feelings.

Her solution, though unnecessary in my opinion is understandable on her character's part of wanting to prove herself useful to her family, due to Oba’s (her older brother) constant degrading remarks to her about being empty-headed and useless.

That being said, I also assumed this solution would also have been the writer’s way of introducing us to the ‘ex to lovers’ trope that we would have very much eaten up, and would have further progressed along the lines of ‘falling in love with two brothers at the same time’ But no!

The writers chose to carry us on an emotionally ambiguous rollercoaster with three people who barely proved to love themselves.&nbsp;

On Chidi’s part I could understand why he agreed to the arrangement, it’s believable he still loved her and wanted to use it as a way to win her back; and it looked like he was trying to and was fairly successful.

But the success of his ulterior plan was also hard to measure because Tade would easily fall for his charm in his face and then go home and play the damsel in distress card to her sidekick, Lottie. It was almost as if she and the writers had forgotten what stand she was supposed to take.

It didn't help that the story failed to give Cheta a chance to prove himself. How would the audience believe that Cheta truly loves or has loved Tade if he had a total of ten dialogue points in the entire film?

His character didn't get a chance to say more than three sentences to Tade and I truly feel that was a disservice to his claimed love for her.

Also considering this role was a perfect opportunity for Pere Egbi to prove himself as a skilled actor through performance, it seemed unfair to give him the least dialogue as one of the film’s lead characters.

Although, in a way, with the little he was given, he did perform well, I only wish there was more. He needed more. His character needed more.

In telling a story successfully, it's impossible to dismiss the power of performance. Bovi as one of the leading stars is a decision that can be described as venturesome.

Bovi is a decent actor, a good comedian, and overall a great performer, but this role in particular I believe was also a chance to prove his acting skills in a genre different from comedy.

While he delivered on the charm, I believe his dialogue and energy were sometimes mismatched. It could have also been something with the tone delivery coupled with his body language that just didn't feel right.

Most of his scenes often felt like he was trying very hard to not burst into laughter. That being said, it's not throwing out his entire performance, but noting there’s a sliver of potential that can be harnessed in future projects.

Ultimately, it’s not an out rightly terrible film, it was a comfortable watch if one may say. Nevertheless, it had so much potential to be an A-class romcom, but the cut and join Onuzo and his team put together for us is not it at all.

There are many external factors that influence the outcome of a film, and it's understandable knowing the country we’re in and its circumstances, but this film isn't a product of bad directing or cinematography, it just had a weak story development.

Disclaimer: This article is the opinion of a Pulse Contributor, it doesn't reflect the opinions of the company.

The Perfect Arrangement movie directed by Naz Onuzo [YouTube]

Chinaza Onuzo’s 2022 film, The Perfect Arrangement, is another hapless tale of a good story with poor storytelling.

The Perfect Arrangement review: A Lackluster love story with wasted potential

The festival which is set to hold from Saturday, June 8th till Sunday, June 19th, 2022, features a wide array of world premieres of short films, documentaries, and feature films.

While many of the films and documentaries in the lineup are made up of films from and by American and European filmmakers, there are a couple of African talents included in the lineup.&nbsp;Kenyan Elisa Majimbo, Nigerian Little Simz, Nigerian Obongjayar, and Ghanaian Ebeneza Blanche have projects that will be screened at the festival.

Internet sensation, Elsa Majimbo’s self-titled debut film Elsa has been included in the recently unveiled lineup of short documentaries at the Tribeca Festival.

Elsa, will be premiered under the Compass (Short documentaries about navigating life) category of the festival’s premieres. It follows the reality of Elsa's world and what it is to be young, successful, and unashamedly true to oneself in a harsh world. The documentary was directed and produced by Julia Jansch ad Written by Elsa Majimbo.&nbsp;

Little Simz follows up 'Grey Area' with new album, 'Sometimes I Might Be An Introvert.' (tbd)

Little Simz and Obongjayar’s music video Point and Kill is also set to premiere at the festival. The video was directed by Ghanian director, Ebeneza Blanche, and was written by Obongjayar. The video is set to premiere under the New Perspectives category at the festival.

Tribeca Film festival has recently unveiled its lineup of 150 features, short films, and documentaries.

Elsa Majimbo, Little Simz, Obongjayar, and other Africans are set to premiere their short Documentaries at Tribecca Film Festival

Nollywood has been off to a somewhat rocky start but be rest assured with the new wave of filmmakers incoming it’s going to be a rather interesting year in the industry. Here are 7 Nollywood screenwriters we want more content from this 2022.

One half of Nigeria’s best podcast, Jola Ayeye, is much more than her wit on I said What I said. Alongside being a founding member of Feminist.co, she’s a screenwriter who has shown us her talents go beyond making us laugh via her podcast and inspiring Nigerian women. Some of her works include Inspector K (2020) and Smart Money Woman (2021), which are both great shows. She’s one writer Nollywood needs to see more of in its feature films this year.

Lani Aisida is one name that reoccurs in the Nollywood web series industry and once you see that name in the credits, you know you’re in for a treat. In the last few years, he’s worked on several projects that have solidified his success as a screenwriter. Inasmuch as he’s a web series hitmaker, many of us want more of his work on bigger platforms this year.

3. Ozioma M. Ogbaji

Accelerate filmmaker Project finalist, Ozioma Ogbaji, is one name that has blossomed in the industry in the past three years. Since 2018, Ozioma has written three blockbuster movies including Kambili: The whole 30 yards (2020), Aki and Paw Paw (2021), and Fate of Alakada(2020). Kambili was a great ‘feel good’ movie that the industry definitely needs more of this year.

If you’ve watched This Lady Called Life, you can attest to how tender and brilliant the film was. Part of the film’s beauty can be credited to the writer, Toluwani Obayan. Although a not-so-popular name today, it’s clear she has the talent and skill that’ll give her the accolades she deserves. She’s one writer the industry and its fans want to see more of this year.

The founder and creative director of UrbaGidi, popularly known as Sir Wande Thomas, is also the screenwriter responsible for writing some of the production company’s content. From his one-season web series, Lara of Lagos (2020), and a short film Napped (2021), both of which were great watches, it’s clear he creates unique content that the industry needs more of this year.

Popular for its versatility in the media space as a presenter, MC, and Host, Tamara is also a screenwriter. In the last few years, she’s worked on projects that have helped her secure a spot in the screenwriting industry. Inasmuch as many of her projects are Tv or web series, it’s evident she has what it takes. Some of her works include; Inspector K (2018/2020), On the real (2017), Money.Men.Marriage (2017)

Adaora Udeh is a budding screenwriter who needs more recognition this 2022. Her 2020 film, Blue, won the award for Best Nigerian Film at the Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival. She also has another film, Baby Make, written and starring herself, set to release later this year. From the trailer and synopsis, it proves to be worth the wait.

Nollywood filmmakers are taking the industry by storm this year with the influx of already expected film releases. We hope to see more work from these writers and the hundred other talented writers in the industry this year.

As premium retail chain Grey Velvet enters a new phase, we talk to COO Tamara Aihie about the business of fashion [Credit: Pulse]

It’s a fresh start for us all this year and we all have certain expectations from ourselves and the things that interest us.

7 Nollywood Screenwriters We Want More of in 2022

The Love Lockdown singer’s three-part documentary, Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (Act I), is set for a nationwide theatre release on February 10th, 2022. After that, the entire trilogy will be released across a three-week span on Netflix starting from 16th February 2022.

The film, which was is also set to screen later this month at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, is made up of a stockpile of unseen footages that have been acquired for over twenty-one years by directors Clarence Simmons AKA Coodie and Chike Ozah. In the official teaser released by Netflix, we see a popular video of Kanye in New York having an argument with Rhymefest back in 2002 amongst several other iconic clips that lead us through the rapper’s career.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-e_YPO-RYc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-e_YPO-RYc</a>

The term ‘Jeen-Yuhs’, which is the pronunciation of ‘genius’, is a title that Kanye himself and many others have bestowed upon him. In the teaser we see Kanye self-acclaiming himself as the genius he knows he is. That argument was had two years before releasing his Grammy award-winning debut album, College Dropout, and 21 years before he becomes the rapper with the second-highest Grammy Awards.

Although <a href="https://twitter.com/TIDAL/status/1481347311762657280?s=20">Tidal</a> confirms an upcoming release of Donda 2, many fans speculate the rapper will release the album at the end of the third act of the documentary. Kanye is known for unexpected and unorthodox album releases, which means this theory is not far from possible.&nbsp;

&nbsp;Clarence “Coodie” Simmons &amp; Chike Ozah

The film is directed by Clarence ‘Coodie’ Simmons and Chike Ozah, produced by Clarence&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Coodie” Simmons, Chike Ozah, Leah Natasha Thomas and Kanye West. It includes Max Allman and J.M. Harper as the editors and Clarence “Coodie” Simmons, Chike Ozah and J. Ivy as the&nbsp;screenwriters.

It’s been over twenty years since the cameras started rolling on Kanye West’s life documentary.

It’s 26 days till “Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye West Trilogy”, Here’s All We Know

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