Since the announcement by the Ekiti State government that Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, will be directing an epic historical movie on the 19th century Yoruba civil-war, the centre seems not to be holding among the stakeholders in the Nigerian Motion Picture industry otherwise known as Nollywood.

While a few perceive the development as welcoming, others hold a contrary view as they accuse Soyinka as never being a believer in Nollywood. But what may be hidden under the guise of annoyance towards the Nobel Prize winner, Trends learnt, may be fear for the high international profile Soyinka has. They are however maintaining that  he should follow  due process in procedures guiding the movie industry in order to excel in the film he is about to direct.

The Ekiti State government through its Senior Special Assistant on public communication, Mr. Moses Jolayemi and the producer of the film, Chief Jimoh Aliu announced some few weeks ago that Soyinka is to direct and act as the principal consultant to the production team that would produce Kiriji, a movie about the Yoruba-civil war of the 19^th century being sponsored by the Ekiti State government.

Soyinka, it was gathered, would not only act in the film, he agreed to write the English sub-title of the film as well as provide the foreign actors and actresses who would act the roles of European colonialists in the movie.

To show the extent of involvement of the prolific writer, he has put a stop to his personal projects to make sure that the film would be one of the most celebrated epic films about the Yoruba race in history.

Soyinka, who has on a number of occasions both at home and abroad berated Nollywood once referred to it as the N-word. He said he decided to take the offer due to the level of passion and interest shown by the sponsors of the film.

“I don’t want to leave you with any doubt about my commitment to this project. The history of the black people is paramount to me. This is because the history of Africa has not been told by we black people, but rather it has been told through the eyes of other people who use it to suit their own purposes,” he said during the meeting with representatives of the state government but the battle line seems to be drawn by die-hard Nollywood stakeholders as they say Soyinka should not expect the project to be all rosy considering the hard criticisms and utter disregard the Nobel laureate has for the industry.

A Nollywood stakeholder who spoke under anonymity said that the industry is happy that at last, Soyinka is coming back to the film industry now known as Nollywood.

“He did his films during the 70’s, at a time Nollywood was still not born, maybe he will need to face some of the problems we all are shouting about,”

Soyinka’s stint with the motion picture industry in Nigeria dates back to the early 70’s when he made a movie adaptation to one of his plays, Kongi's Harvest which was directed by Ossie Davis and produced by Oladele, Arthur Dubons, and Lennart Berns.

While the second movie, Blues for a Prodigal, a send up of the early years of the looter-mania that soon became a way of life of the ruling echelons in the country, he was the director.

Not much has been heard about his escapades with the film industry except for stage performances of some of his plays which are hugely celebrated.

This long stay out from the movie industry is what the formers president of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Mr. Madu Chikwendu, said he is afraid may affect project Kiriji.

“I know Prof. Soyinka as a literary and stage theater icon; I don’t know him as a film maker. He may have done well with his films then but it is a different ball game now because Nollywood evolved out of nothing and he was not part of that process. If he is now going into directing in Nollywood, he needs to collaborate extensively with people that have been there all these while otherwise, he may just be cutting his teeth in film making,” he said.

One area really generating complaints from the Nollywood stakeholders is the manner the Nobel laureate writes off films from their stable before the international communities.

“He does not regard Nollywood as he qualifies us with all manners of adjectives that are not pleasant,” another source alleged.

One of the perceived occasions Soyinka cam down on Nollywood was while sharing his thoughts on culture during the celebration of the Black History month in the United States of America (USA), in attendance where students and scholars form from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, Black American Studies Program, Department of Theater and etc.

Soyinka spoke for more than an hour, beginning with comments about Nollywood which he said some critics believed is the sum of cinematic possibilities from Africa, he stated that he felt differently, describing Nollywood as the N-word, a comment that earned laughs from the hugely populated American audience.

"The nation is in a deluge of imitative and unimaginative films," Soyinka said at the forum.

Stanley Okoronkwo, a veteran journalist and president of the Association of Movies Journalists, had a different attitude to the hard knocks Nollywood has been getting from the Nobel laureate, he went philosophical by quoting Divine Elad, “All men must come to me but death is the agony of having waited.”

According to Okoronkwo, “I am finally glad that a personality like Wole Soyinka has taken note of Nollywood which means we are progressing.”  But he sounded a note of caution mentioning that stage directing is not the same as movie directing.

“Some have made a great success as actors on stage but if tried in the film industry, they flop head on,” he said.

He commended the effort of the Ekiti State government’s decision to sponsor the film and urged other state government and to invest in Nollywood and not really coming out when celebrated people come into the scene.

Another top Nollywood practitioner who refused to be mentioned stated categorically that Soyinka should register with the different agencies in Nollywood or forget about the project.

“He may as well write about the experience he would face should he fail to pay his dues,” he said.

Robot  # 1 | 18.05.2008 07:10

Since the announcement by the Ekiti ...Read the full article.

Exxcuzme  # 2 | 18.05.2008 13:02

=Robot;4295019052>Since the announcement by the Ekiti ...Read the full article. I dont know wy Nollywood is afraid of the professor, he has done it before and he can do it again. Like most things in Nigeria, Nollywood is not improving their technology, expecially the Yoruba side of it. The audio and over commercialization of the movies are disgusting.

DeepThought  # 3 | 18.05.2008 13:57

This will be one movie I will look forward to seeing. Wole Soyinka had better deliver or else .... He is right about the so called Nollywood movies though, I think those are "movies" , generally best avoided. The Yoruba ones especially, totally devoid of imagination, they seem to all be written from the same silly script..... usually only about one old baba/wizard spending 99.9% of the time mouthing one incantantion or the other. And why are these people proud to use the name Nollywood? Hollywood should be the last entity Nigerian film producers should want to identify with. But then, this is Nigeria for you....

mediacentric  # 4 | 19.05.2008 04:34

I do not know where this news is from, but I doubt that anybody is afraid of Soyinka stepping into Nollywood. I am in Nollywood myself and I do not see how it matters. There are 140 million people in nIgeria so the market is large enough for everyone. Nigeria is a free market and I'm sure he is wise enough to sort things out with the various relevant bodies. It is important however that he does it well, and does not come in with an attitude of I know it better than everyone else cos those who do often fail.

ALORAINIDDEVIL  # 5 | 19.05.2008 09:59

=mediacentric;4295044145> It is important however that he does it well, and does not come in with an attitude of I know it better than everyone else cos those who do often fail. Thats exactly what he will do... anyway, if Alaba and idumota boys wont release the film before him..

katampe  # 6 | 19.05.2008 10:10

Is that how the practice obtains in America ? Are professors directing films? If that is not the case, I wonder why he has been asked to direct this film. Would it not have been appropriate if he was a consultant on the project, not exactly one to direct the film?

Olamide  # 7 | 19.05.2008 10:51

All those illiterates and semi-literate guys parading as 'marketers' should be afraid. You need to see some of the sub-titles in those films to wonder wether the Producer, Director, cast etc ever graced the four walls of their village primary school talk less of secondary or university. The sponsors of the film wanted the best and they went for it. At least, we will not have to use Panadol Extra (Komot for road, I dey kampe!) after watching the movie and suffering through sub-titles written by Ronke Oshodi Oke and co. By the way, is Ekiti state government authorized by its state house of assembly to be using state funds to produce 'Yoruba Epics?'

DeepThought  # 8 | 19.05.2008 11:05

I find these kinds of manifestations troubling. Is that how the practice obtains in America ? Are professors directing films? :confused1 Discerned learning from others is one thing. Unquestioned sublimation is quite another. Mediacentric, I am in Nollywood myself I've always wanted to talk with someone in "Nollywood". What is it that you do? do you mind enlightening us about the process of producing a film (if you don't mind addressing this publicly?)

katampe  # 9 | 19.05.2008 11:59

=Olamide;4295044278>All those illiterates and semi-literate guys parading as 'marketers' should be afraid. You need to see some of the sub-titles in those films to wonder wether the Producer, Director, cast etc ever graced the four walls of their village primary school talk less of secondary or university. The sponsors of the film wanted the best and they went for it. At least, we will not have to use Panadol Extra (Komot for road, I dey kampe!) after watching the movie and suffering through sub-titles written by Ronke Oshodi Oke and co. By the way, is Ekiti state government authorized by its state house of assembly to be using state funds to produce 'Yoruba Epics?' I am not sure you have looked at the concept of markets, that is the theory of supply and demand. If there is any evidence that it has played out, the success of nollywood amongst Africans and west Indians show this so well. They are popular overseas amongst african s and west indians communitie. So what exactly is this about, the connotations of the word "illiterates and semi-literate" reek of classicism and a view that looks at the honest pursuits of ordinary, law abiding folks with disdain, people that have manged to create art from their God given talents are now being branded as non-performers. Films have segments and market niches they appeal to. When you break down and segment a market, it reveals people's cravings and what they can connect with. If you suggest we use films as lectures, it is another thing.But at the moment, the production and marketing in nollywood reveals the stage of our culture and the evolution of our society.

Shoko Loko Bangoshe  # 10 | 19.05.2008 12:02

Mediacentric, Like DT, I'd also like to hear about what goes on behind the scenes in producing a film (if it won't involve giving away too many secrets!). DT, I don't think that Nollywood has anything at all to fear from Wole Soyinka. I think that the people that his films will be targeted toward are largely a different audience from those who watch Nollywood films today. I welcome his efforts, although I don't know whether someone who is more comfortable with theatre direction will cope well with film direction.

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