Like the Afrobeats tag, Nollywood is an umbrella term used to label Nigerian films. Regardless of the language or scope of production, many still adopt the contentious label. Today, the industry is experiencing an unprecedented level of growth in the quantity of films and box office earnings, amongst other metrics that facilitate an expansion.

One of the most visible points of expansion is the potential reach of a Nigerian film. With Netflix’s long arms of digital distribution that reaches over 260 million global subscribers, the industry has come a long way from direct-to-video physical releases that rejuvenated the industry in the late 90s.

Alongside an unpredictable cinema culture and the presence of Prime Video and Showmax, there is a greater knowledge of Nollywood films out there, which has enlarged the purse of our filmmakers and stars. This increased investment today means that audiences can enjoy more options through revived genres and attempted risks into indigenous worlds.

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Six Popular Nigerian Titles and The Northern Filmmakers Behind Them

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The Many Sides of Indigenous Language Nollywood 

Nollywood, like the country, constantly creates narratives centered around the three ‘major’ ethnic groups – The Igbos, Yorubas and Hausas. Due to the challenges in making films within the worlds of further ethnic groups, many big players are satisfied when the 3 major groups are catered towards and represented.

AfricaMagic, a product of South African-owned cable, further strengthens this by running dedicated TV channels in the three major languages. This in its most idealistic form is a brilliant idea because it creates a means to reach viewers that enjoy Nollywood in their indigenous languages while serving as an avenue to reach non-English speaking audiences within these groups. Additionally, several YouTube channels offer movies in these ‘major’ languages, such as Apata TV for Yoruba titles, Kannywood Exclusive TV for Hausa titles and Usekwu Igbo TV for Igbo titles, amongst other channels. 

These channels generate a high number of views in an ever-growing YouTube ecosystem that filmmakers are starting to turn towards. Hence, there is a concerted effort by big Nollywood producers with production companies, and indie filmmakers, to create movies set around these ethnic groups, occasionally, with a mix of English language. Yet, despite these YouTube numbers, only a few indigenous films make it to global streaming platforms for several reasons. While the quality of the stories might be overlooked, the overall production quality is likely to fall short of specifications that are demanded by international streamers who currently serve as the industry’s widest well-paying palms.

As previously stated, Netflix is currently the typical film distribution channel with the widest reach for a Nollywood title. Noticeably, since the streamer kickstarted with Lionheart (its first Nigerian original) in 2018, recent trends after the post-pandemic box office success of King of Thieves (highest-grossing indigenous film) have meant that new attention is being placed on indigenous language films in the mainstream fold (an effort that can also guarantee the producer a stab at the annually-jostled responsibility of bearing the country’s torch at the Oscars).

The Resurgence of Indigenous Films in Mainstream Nollywood

The success of King of Thieves, a 2022 epic film purely in Yoruba language, cracked a new formula for many producers. During that period, crime and action films were also being embraced by audiences. Producers looking to make a buck at the box office could turn to either path and meet whetted eyes ready to be served. That same year, Anikulapo would be released on Netflix less than 6 months after King of Thieves, although the short period between both doesn’t absolutely point that the former exists because of the latter (which was already confirmed to head to Prime Video for its post-theatrical release).

Before the end of that same year, Biyi Bandele’s Elesin Oba followed suit on Netflix. At the turn of the new year, Orisa hit cinemas and Jagun Jagun followed on Netflix as an original, marking a new tide for Yoruba language films in the mainstream fold.

Nollywood has struggled in recent times to make a major production in Igbo language. Noticeable mentions are the remakes of classics that were originally in Igbo but have now been recreated with little input of the language. Major examples are Living in Bondage: Breaking Free, and Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story. Titles like Yahoo+ (with an interesting path from Nigerian festivals to Netflix) and Diiche (Showmax’s first Nigerian original series) serve as other lesser-known projects with spoken Igbo language while Afamefuna is a solo recent entry to have gained mainstream steam after its Netflix release.

While eyes are closely monitoring the project that will break this dry spell of a major Igbo-language Nollywood project (with a few publicly known to be at various stages of production), attention should also be paid to Kannywood where a milestone was recently hit with actress-producer Rahama Sadau at the forefront. 

The noteworthy breakthrough is Mati a Zazzau, a 2020 movie that set the record as the first Kannywood movie (entirely in Hausa) to debut on Netflix. This feat has not come out of nowhere but is the product of consistency, hard work and a vision from Rahama Sadau, who was on our mainstream screens a lot in 2023. In the past year, she boasted 3 other Netflix releases, and 1 theatrical and Prime Video release apiece. Her mainstream momentum has clearly rolled over into 2024, kickstarting her year with a Showmax reality series.

Rahama Sadau’s Evolution 

My first introduction to Rahama Sadau was through her role in the 2018 film Up North. I was drawn to her portrayal of a teacher in Northern Nigeria due to the seamless integration of the plot and setting. Since then, I’ve closely followed her career and witnessed her evolution as a skilled actress and producer.

Sadau hasn’t had it all easy, coming from Kannywood. She was expelled and blacklisted from the Northern film industry for featuring in a music video in a manner that was deemed blasphemous in 2016 and for posting “raunchy” images in 2020, events that came with internet threats, preachings and vile comments under her social media posts. Ironically, the former blacklist pushed her into mainstream Nollywood and propelled her career in the North. “I can tell you that Rahama is big in the North and the women love her,” reveals Josiah Bityong, a Nollywood journalist based in Kaduna.

Her way of life is deemed as “unconventional”, comments Josiah Bityong further. Abu-Bakr Adamu, an FCT-based filmmaker, sheds more light on how Sadau is perceived in the North, “she is seen as a strong woman doing great things and unpredictable with her role choices”. Despite these labels that show how she broke away from the norm, her star power would only shine brighter as she enjoyed more roles in mainstream Nollywood.

“I can remember the first time she was introduced into Kannywood by Ali Nuhu. Despite all the heat she never stopped to reach where she is today,” shares Abu-Bakr on what he calls a “remarkable” growth.

2023 saw her in Netflix releases such as The Plan, A Lot Like Love and WAR: Wrath and Revenge; FilmOne-distributed cinema release of The Two Aishas; and In Bed With the Pedros on Prime Video. In a single year, not many Nollywood stars have that number of titles to their names spread across platforms, some of which she also produced.

Sadau is one of the actors with the most appearances in and from Kannywood. For every role she is assigned, she brings a high level of expertise that won’t be found in a non-native playing the same role in a mainstream project, for example. Born and raised in Kaduna, she had a proper orientation of her culture at an early age, which she continues to live by. From her debut act in Gani ga wane to her most recent films, her growth is clear to see. 

Nonetheless, she interprets her role best when required to speak her indigenous language, which also applies to many other Nigerian actors who occasionally struggle with believability in English. This is an opinion on performances in Nigerian films that industry commentators have always voiced. “It adds authenticity to their performance and helps them connect with the audience on a deeper level,” explains filmmaker Emil Garuba, who was a story consultant on the Sons of the Caliphate and co-wrote Lionheart and 4th Republic.

Since her humble debut, Sadau soon moved steps higher to be frequently on the same screen with some of the biggest Kannywood names including Ali Nuhu, Yakubu Mohammed, Ummi Baba-Ahmed, amongst others. Very few actors had a busier 2023 than her. Garuba sees it as a reflection of her prominence in Kannywood and mainstream Nollywood, “Her multiple releases indicate her versatility and appeal across different platforms, showcasing her ability to navigate diverse roles and audiences.”

Rahama Sadau’s Achievements and Contribution

Rahama Sadau started her journey into mainstream Nollywood after her breakthrough role in Super Story: The Other Side. Since then she has been in Sons of the Caliphate, Up North, and Chief Daddy.

Sadau has constantly made efforts at promoting Kannywood to the world, by maximizing opportunities in the mainstream fold. This has been achieved in both her capacity as an actress and a producer. For instance, aside from producing movies for local consumption and global streaming sites like Netflix, Sadau has an eponymous YouTube channel dedicated to Hausa films, where series and films are regularly distributed. This serves as a way of solidifying her contribution to the growth of Kannywood.

In addition to its fundamental definition as the film industry producing movies in the Hausa language, Kannywood embodies cultural elements reflected in fashion, communal living, and the overall way of life in Northern Nigeria. Rahama Sadau, known for her appearances in numerous Nollywood films, consistently seeks avenues to advocate for this culture through her roles.

In her capacity as a producer, which gives her more creative power, she has brought several films to life which, even when not purely Kannywood, retain a high level of its features. This can be seen in A Lot Like Love and The Plan. For instance, The Plan is set in Abuja, a city located in the Central region of Nigeria close to the North. Another characteristic is the cultural input, which includes the language, as the series is done in a mix of Hausa and English, and most importantly the dressing, which features the elegant fashion of Northerners.

In the creation of Mati a Zazzau, the first Kannywood movie to debut on Netflix, and a sequel to Mati Da Lado, released in 2014, Sadau holds the dual role of an actress and a producer. While it is impossible to precisely know Netflix’s grounds for acquiring this title which debuted on December 30, one can easily fall on Netflix’s history of data-backed decisions. This hints at the streamer’s satisfaction with the performances of her earlier 2023 releases. Her films clearly check multiple boxes for the international service. With her success, her projects are setting a place for Kannywood on the global stage which could lead to more investment from the streamer in Northern stories.

Kannywood on the Global Stage

Although her produced movie Mati a Zazzau is credited as the first Kannywood debut on Netflix, it is important to note that there have been other Kannywood producers who have put in effort over the years to promote Kannywood to the world and specifically had the idea of making Netflix-worthy movies which sadly, never worked out. An example is Hikima, a Kannywood movie produced by Mustapha Ahmad in 2020. Despite the unprecedented production budget for a Kannywood project, precisely the sum of twenty million naira, its aspiration to land on Netflix was unfortunately not met. This makes Mati a Zazzau the typical description of a film that can fly because others walked. 

To examine the pitfalls of the earlier Kannywood films, most of their films, mostly created for local consumption, were shot with equipment that didn’t meet up with international production quality. This was particularly a result of a lack of proper funding to acquire equipment capable of providing the best form of visual quality. 

In an interview, Mustapha Ahmad, producer of Hikima (the previous Kannywood attempt at a Netflix pickup), stated their awareness about some of these basic requirements that would be needed for a project to land on Netflix. Luckily for Sadau the producer, Mati a Zazzau boasts superior visuals that provide a richer look at the film’s rural setting. Even a casual viewer will be quick to notice a production quality upgrade from the original film Mati Da Lado (2014).

Another notable area of improvement is in the acting department. Typical awkward scenes found in many previous Kannywood films were remedied in Mati a Zazzau. In the film, one notices a certain care taken in the casting department. So much so that Di’ja, the ex-Mavin Records artiste, who doesn’t have many screen appearances, delivers her role delightfully. Sadiq Sani Sadiq, who plays the main character Mati, a stammerer, also avoids a forceful presence on screen with his commendable performance.

Viewers who did not watch the original film are also able to comfortably enjoy this film without worries about skipping the first one, as the story of the past events carefully leads up to the present timeline in Mati a Zazzau.

It is difficult to tell how much influence Sadau had on the film as a producer of this movie, but in a year that saw her shine bright across key distribution channels in Nollywood, her efforts to improve her craft have helped her to gradually near icon status. Even these days the love from her audience is growing with little to no backlash as Bityong reveals, “I don’t know if they adjusted or they just got tired and let her be.”

With 4 Netflix outings in 2023, Sadau is creating a crucial space for Kannywood globally. “The release of Mati a Zazzau on Netflix is indeed a significant milestone for Kannywood and Northern storytelling as a whole,” admits Garuba. With all eyes on the next steps that will be explored to bring more Kannywood stories to the mainstream screen, Garuba already knows the kind of untapped Northern stories he would like to see on the global stage. He envisions, “Narratives that cover cultural traditions like folklores; historical epics that tell stories of ancient kingdoms and battles; contemporary issues like social inequality and religious tensions explored with nuance; women’s empowerment and cross-cultural encounters.”

Conclusion

“Quality production, talent development, international collaboration, and digital distribution” are areas for growth and development in Kannywood, according to Garuba. Rahama Sadau continues to promote Kannywood through her continuous effort to make movies that meet global standards and demands as evidenced by Mati a Zazzau on Netflix. She does this with reliable concepts of a general reflection of her society, portrayed in her indigenous language. These achievements, including her Northern-set Showmax reality series Sadau Sisters, can help Kannywood producers see the possibility of replicating this admirable success. Thus, creating more growth opportunities for Kannywood on a global scale.