The movie industry in Nigeria has indeed evolved in no small measure from what it used to be decades ago to what it is now. Once upon a time in Nollywood, movies were shot with low budget cameras but these days, Nigerian filmmakers use exotic cameras and lenses such as the Arri Alexa LF, Red Weapon Helium, Sigma Art Zoom among others.
Long before now, actors and actresses were rarely paid for what they do in the Nigerian movie industry, aside the fame and prominence they get by virtue of their participation in movies, it was never commensurate with their financial reality but all that has in recent times changed for the better with many actors getting what is rightfully theirs.
One of the reasons for this new lease of life in Nollywood is the advancement in technology which has brought in the Netflix platform, a podium that has become a veritable and viable tool in the hands of actors, movie directors and producers alike.
While Nigerian actress Genevieve Nnaji’s movie Lionheart made inroads into the Netflix platform, Netflix has opened its arms to several other Nigerian stars thereby changing the narrative as far as their financial reality is concerned.
On Netflix alone, Nigerian star actress Toyin Abraham features in more than six of such movies on the platform. Movies such as Elevator Baby, Bling Lagosians, Wives on Strike, Seven and a Half Dates, Celebrity Marriage, Nimbe among others. These were movies that made huge cinema earnings and is still attracting popularity and revenue on the platform.
Nollywood is no doubt a multi-billion-dollar enterprise and before now, not much attention was paid to technical details and the angle to storytelling but with the emergence of Netflix, the story has changed for the better as the platform is known for its high-quality control. The platform has also demonstrated that revenue can be generated from other sources.
More and more original Nigerian works get accepted on the platform on a monthly basis thereby putting more money in the industry and at the same time increasing the creative genome of our movie directors and producers.
