This is cheering news for Nollywood, for which the Ministry of Information, its regulatory agencies and charitable organisation had spent fortunes, rallying filmmakers at the Cannes platform but without significant achievement. When the popular Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Canada, resumes for its 41st edition on September 8, the ambitious Nigerian motion picture industry, otherwise called Nollywood, will be making a never-before-experienced impact on the international scene.
Eight films, which represent the aspirations of a new crop of filmmakers in Nigeria, have been selected for showcase during the North American film event, which in the world is second, only to the Cannes International Film Festival, France.
Although the festival has featured some great cities in the world, such as London, Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Mumbai, Athens and Seoul, since it made debut with this initiative seven years ago, the choice of Lagos is predicated upon the insight of the artistry of Nollywood by curators of TIFF, led by its Artistic Director, Cameron Bailey.
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″]This time round, Nollywood films will not only be exposed to the big studios of Hollywood, which target TIFF as the last field of harvest for the annual Oscar Awards, Nigerian filmmakers and their stars will also shine as they get a special focus from the international media from September 8 to 18 in a prominent segment of the festival tagged City-To-City Focus.[/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″]Those who have been curious about the Nollywood phenomenon, will get to know how the 1,000 low-budget features ‘Nollywood’ products generate about $1 billion in box office returns each year and how a new generation of filmmakers is emerging to both advance and challenge Nollywood with bigger budgets and greater artistic ambition.[/vc_column][/vc_row]
Bailey once described Lagos as a “The city of Fela Kuti’s music,” which he said has also given birth to one of the world’s most vibrant film industries.
No wonder Bailey declared, “The new cinema of Lagos is bold, exciting, and ready to take its place on the international stage.”