In a short open-session episode filled with rants and bants, Nollywood Film Club tabled various industry events in an unfiltered conversation.
In June, they also discussed Yemi Morafa’s 3-part whodunnit series The Party, Taiwo Egunjobi’s Afro-Western thriller The Fire and the Moth, EbonyLife’s 5-episode series Baby Farm, and Jerry Ossai’s Ms. Kanyin, another take on the Madam Koi Koi lore.
The “Rants, Bants and Karma” episode opened with the tragic report of a crew member who drowned on set. Allegedly, the producer continued filming on the same day despite the incident, a decision that stirred concern and outrage across board.
They also touched on the Red Circle controversy, where allegations of sabotage at the cinema surfaced. Reports claim cinema staff actively persuaded viewers to choose other films, amidst other forms of “technical difficulties”. “If the movie is bad, let the people decide,” a speaker argued, noting that such behaviour, once thought to affect only non-mainstream filmmakers, is now hitting closer to home. The conversation went further into the broader industry context and the implications for filmmakers.
There was yet another call for the industry to sit up, especially regarding how investors’ money was spent during the streaming boom. There is no distribution talk these days without bringing up YouTube and the sweatshop model powering the platform was raised once again.
And of course, the never-ending tug-of-war between “reality and performance”: how is the film industry really doing? Mo quoted a Yoruba adage, “Lie cannot get lost between two people,” urging the industry to stop with the fluff and fawning over optics, and instead face the hard truths.
My (not-so) key lesson: Keep an eye out for the independent box office and audience habits report teased by Mo during the session.
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