Nollywood New Wave

A Break From the Straight-to-Video Model 🇳🇬

The term Nollywood New Wave describes the evolution of the Nigerian film industry from its ‘Old Nollywood’ roots. The traditional Nollywood model, which made it the second-largest film industry in the world by volume, was characterized by:

• Very low budgets.
• Rapid production schedules (often just a few weeks).
• Shooting on consumer or prosumer video cameras.
• A distribution model based on selling films directly to the public on DVD and VCD.

Around the mid-2000s, a new generation of filmmakers began to emerge, aiming to create films that could compete on a global stage. This marked the beginning of the New Wave.

Hallmarks of the New Nollywood

This new movement is defined by a clear shift in both technical execution and business strategy:

• Cinematic Production Values: A strong emphasis on high-quality visuals and sound. This includes the use of professional digital cinema cameras, sophisticated lighting, and professional sound design and mixing.
• Theatrical Ambition: These films are made to be seen on the big screen. Their emergence coincided with the growth of modern multiplex cinemas across Nigeria.
• Bigger Budgets & Longer Schedules: Productions have significantly larger budgets and more conventional shooting schedules, allowing for more polished and developed work.
• Diverse Storytelling: While still embracing popular genres like romance and comedy, New Nollywood films often tackle a wider range of subjects with more nuanced and complex storytelling.
• Global Reach: Filmmakers are actively targeting an international audience, including the Nigerian diaspora. This has led to major distribution deals with streaming giants like Netflix, which has heavily invested in Nigerian content, bringing the New Nollywood to a global audience.