• Suomeksi

Nollywood Babylon

Nollywood, the subject of the solid Canadian documentary ”Nollywood Babylon”, is Nigeria’s homegrown movie industry. The world’s third largest after the -woods Holly and Bolly, it’s the source of hundreds of movies annually, all shot quickly, cheaply and digitally, all released directly to DVD or VCD (outbursts of public violence made theaters less than appealing). Nollywood cinema is, by definition, popular cinema -- funded by investors or the filmmakers themselves, the features are calculated to give the people what they want, crowdpleasers, melodramas, crime stories, tales of religious redemption, broad comedies, all designed to recoup cash. “Africans telling African stories,” as one girl puts it.

– ALISON WILLMORE, IFC.COM