Hacker Cinema
Nollywood Babylon
2009 · Film · documentary · 74 min
Directed by Ben Addelman, Samir Mallal
Nigeria's film industry, Nollywood, is the third-largest in the world--an unstoppable economic and cultural force that has taken the continent by storm and is now bursting beyond the borders of Africa. "Nollywood Babylon" is a feature documentary detailing the industry's phenomenal success. Propelled by a booming 1970s soundtrack of African underground music, the movie presents an electric vision of a modern African metropolis and a revealing look at the powerhouse that is Nigerian cinema.
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Nigeria ("Nollywood") is the world's third largest film industry (behind Hollywood and Bollywood). Nigeria has a US$250 million movie industry, producing about 2500 films per year. Nollywood might be worth studying as a film industry structured in a different manner than Hollywood's "make a few big bets" business model.
Filmmakers typically fund their own films for about US$20,000 and shoot in one week. Over their career filmmakers may direct 100-150 films. New movies are sold in street markets on video CD and VHS directly to customers. Piracy is not a big worry when a director is releasing new films every couple weeks.
For more info, I recommend the documentaries Nollywood Babylon, This is Nollywood, and Welcome to Nollywood.