Nollywood film festival

Here's a bit of advance notice of the 'Nollywood Now' festival that will take place in October at the Moonshot Centre in Fordham Park in New Cross.

It's claimed to be the UK's first ever Nigerian film festival, and is timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Nigeria's independence, as well as taking place during Black History Month. It's being organised by Phoenix Fry, who is also behind the Deptford Film Club and who explains the significance of the event thus:

The Nigerian film industry, popularly known as Nollywood, exploded at the beginning of the 1990s and is now the world’s second largest film industry in the world in terms of number of annual film production. The industry has an estimated turnover of US$250 million, and produces around 2400 films a year.

Films are rarely released in cinemas, but are distributed in DVD and VCD format in markets and shops for home viewing. In London, many Nollywood fans rent or buy their films from shops in Deptford, Peckham and Dalston. In addition, Odeon cinemas organise occasional late night screenings and popular premiere events.

Nigerian film is popular with audiences from across Africa. In 2006, 42% of Nollywood films were made in English language, 37% in Yoruba and 18% in Hausa. The industry has taken influence from all around the world (including Bollywood melodrama, Latin American soap operas, low-budget American/British horror and Hong Kong gangster flicks) but transform these influences to address local concerns.

Between 6th and 12th October, one film will be shown each night - details of the films are here. Tickets are due to go on sale during September.

Phoenix has also been interviewed about the festival in a piece in the South London Press, along with the magnificently-monikered Nollywood fan Chuks “Chocolate” Manly-Rollings.