Welcome to Nollywood

You've heard of Hollywood, and likely Bollywood, but did you know that Nollywood, Nigeria's film industry, produces almost 1,000 movies a year that are distributed throughout Africa and around the globe?

I got my first exposure to Nollywood during my weekend in rural Haiti when I overheard some distinctively African English accents coming from the side of the room where several of the female Haitian staff were watching a movie.

The themes of the movie were universal - love, loss, faith, and betrayal - but the story lines were distinct. Scenes set in modern cities and "Bible believing" churches intersected with those involving ceremonies led by traditional healers and visits to relatives in rural villages.

A woman's mother warns her that her friend is a witch and so she should keep her away from her new husband. The daughter doesn't believe her but sure enough, the friend slips a strange powder into a cup of orange juice and after one sip, the husband falls for the evil friend and begins cheating on his new wife...

Ten minutes into the movie, I knew I wasn't going to add the film to any of my personal recommendation lists, but as soon as it was over, the women started another one. In the same way I escape into the stories of Elizabeth Bennett or Bridget Jones, these Haitian colleagues identified with the women of Nollywood. The stories were just far enough out of reach of everyday life to be an escape but within the realm of possibility given Haitian realities...not so different from how Miss Bennett and Mr. Darcy's world is for me.

One of the buzz words in international development is developing "South-South" partnerships which promote learning and sharing of expertise between developing countries. There are huge initiatives headed by international "experts" and intellectuals centered on how to make this happen....

...maybe they should start by visiting their local video store.

PS - I found a link to a documentary "This is Nollywood" that I'd like to try to see when I get back to the US. If any of you see it first, let me know how it is.