adminNollywood, the Nigerian movie industry, is gradually being taken over by foreigners, and the infiltration is from one major source: Ghana.
NET investigations revealed that over the past seven months, Ghanaian actors, producers and directors have grabbed over 60 percent of the total market share. Although many are yet to comprehend the impact of this development, those who know, told NET over the weekend, that it has very potential pros and cons.
A look at the movies featured on many Nollywood websites in the last six months, confirms that Ghanaian actresses, whether on Ghollywood or Nollywood productions, have dominated. Out of 184 movies featured on Nollytuned.com between April and August, 2013, Ghanaian actresses have led in at least 93 productions. Almost the same result is obtained if you check through iRokotv, ibakatv and Nollywood.com.
At retail stores, one will also find out that films with Ghanaian actresses are getting more patronage than the ones with Nigerian acts. Sarah Obiorah, a retail store owner at Olaniya Ademola Street in Surulere, Lagos, told NET that a lot of her customers have become quite taken to the Ghanaian acts.
Beautiful Actresses
“Different customers have different preferences, but recently, a lot of them always ask if Yvonne Nelson or Jackie Appiah have new films out. Then some of the ladies always like to buy a John Dumelo or a Majid Michel movie,” Obiorah says.
Only a decade ago, Ghanaian movies hardly sold in Nigeria while Nigerian movies were blockbusters in Ghana.
Today, the Ghanaian movie industry has come a long way parading some of the most beautiful actresses in Africa. At the first-ever Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, Ghana’s Jackie Appiah took home the coveted award for the Best Actress in a leading role.
Appiah was awarded Best Actress at the Nollywood and African Film Critics Awards on September 14. Yvonne Nelson and Nadia Buari have become household names in the Nigerian movie industry and have also become very much sought after by top Nigerian producers and directors. Juliet Ibrahim another rising star, is now a popular face at most Nigerian events. Sam Onanuga, a Nollywood scriptwriter, confirms this emerging trend as he blames in on the reluctance of the established acts to partake in more films.
“It is not surprising that some of the Ghanaian actresses are becoming more popular and are getting more roles than our own actresses. They are more serious about this job and are ready to do as many movies as they can but their Nigerian counterparts are busy walking red carpets at events based on past glory,” said Onanuga.
Hollywood
“How many movies have Genevieve, Omotola and Stephanie done lately? They are chasing after ‘waka-pass’ roles in Hollywood”.
“In the last one year, some of the established acts have reduced the number of films that they appear in to an average of three in a year, when on the other hand, their Ghanaian counterparts would have done an average of eight and sometimes produce too, like Yvonne Nelson has done with ‘Single and Married’ and ‘House of Gold,” said Ona- nuga
“The movie industry works with different modalities,” says Nnamdi Nwokeji, a member of the Lagos State chapter of the Film and Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria .
“The consumers look out for the faces that appear on the cover of the CD before they buy. When you are not seen for a long time, they slowly begin to lose interest in you,” he said
Ghanaian actresses have somehow capitalised on this gap to win the hearts of movie lovers.
Their industry has already identified them for the appeal they have in Nigeria and have used that as leverage to push their movies into the homes of movie-loving Nigerians. Apparently, Nollywood is much renowned worldwide and so it is understandable for the average Ghanaian actress, after achieving much in her industry to aspire for recognition in Nollywood, which is ranked as the second largest film industry in the world in terms of number of annual film productions. – NET.
Online Reporter