Ezinne Ezepue (Igwe) is a scholar of African cinema, particularly the cinema of Nigeria. Since 2018, Ezinne has focused on the transformation, commodification and economization of cinemas across Africa. Her research has also focused on adopting films as entertainment education to affect existing stereotypes on Africa and about Africans. Ezinne is the Director of Africa on Screen Initiative, a platform where budding scriptwriters and storytellers converge to imagine and recreate the Africa of their dreams. Ezinne is currently a postdoctoral researcher of African storytelling under the sponsorship of the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, in Germany. Supervisors: Prof Dr. Joachim Friedmann
Nollywood is further gaining popularity due to its transformations, which bear resemblances to th... more Nollywood is further gaining popularity due to its transformations, which bear resemblances to the processes of gentrification and professionalization. This is formalizing the industry as well as attracting professionals and instigating existing filmmakers to improve on their art. So far, filmmakers have continued to avail themselves for further trainings, aligning themselves with the emerging new and professionalizing Nollywood. This study is interested in finding out whether these changes within the industry are simply a professionalization process or a regeneration that can potentially gentrify the industry. Gentrification, an urban development term which captures the process that alters the structure of a district to suit middle- or upper-class taste, is burdened with the baggage of displacement and so attracts negativity. This study adopts gentrification as a metaphor. Thus, it captures a process where a once-not-so-aesthetic item available exclusively to the general masses bec...
Statements of facts have been made about Nollywood, a segment of the Nigerian film industry that ... more Statements of facts have been made about Nollywood, a segment of the Nigerian film industry that has in recent times become phenomenal due largely to its quantity of production and specific production style. In the face of recent transformations reshaping the industry, matters have been arising which have not been given due academic attention from an industry player perspective. While re-addressing such issues like structure, policy and informality, this study benefits from a new perspective – that of a community member adopting participant observation to research into a familiar culture. With data drawn from an extensive ethnographic study of the industry, this paper examines these matters with an emphasis on structure and the industry's overall political economy. Drawing from discourses on the new and old Nollywood labels and other current matters arising within the industry such as the MOPICON bill redraft, corporate financing and possibilities of regeneration, this paper exa...
This study investigates transformations in the Nigerian film industry, focusing specifically on a... more This study investigates transformations in the Nigerian film industry, focusing specifically on a segment of the industry known as Nollywood. Typically characterized as an informal industry due to its low budgets and unofficial modes of distribution, Nollywood is regularly referred to as a success story, accounting for $7.2 billion (1.42%) of Nigeria’s gross domestic product. Because of this success, the Nigerian government, under the President Goodluck Jonathan administration (2010-2015), introduced various mechanisms to formalize and economize Nollywood in the quest to maximize its potentials and diversify the Nigerian economy. This endeavour availed the industry of film fund, professional training and enhanced distribution. My study focuses on this specific area, addressing wider issues of debate relating to how countries seek to economically benefit from their film economies and the role policy plays in the formalization of film industries. Existing studies on Nollywood have con...
Nollywood is further gaining popularity due to its transformations, which bear resemblances to th... more Nollywood is further gaining popularity due to its transformations, which bear resemblances to the processes of gentrification and professionalization. This is formalizing the industry as well as attracting professionals and instigating existing filmmakers to improve on their art. So far, filmmakers have continued to avail themselves for further trainings, aligning themselves with the emerging new and professionalizing Nollywood. This study is interested in finding out whether these changes within the industry are simply a professionalization process or a regeneration that can potentially gentrify the industry. Gentrification, an urban development term which captures the process that alters the structure of a district to suit middle- or upper-class taste, is burdened with the baggage of displacement and so attracts negativity. This study adopts gentrification as a metaphor. Thus, it captures a process where a once-not-so-aesthetic item available exclusively to the general masses bec...
Statements of facts have been made about Nollywood, a segment of the Nigerian film industry that ... more Statements of facts have been made about Nollywood, a segment of the Nigerian film industry that has in recent times become phenomenal due largely to its quantity of production and specific production style. In the face of recent transformations reshaping the industry, matters have been arising which have not been given due academic attention from an industry player perspective. While re-addressing such issues like structure, policy and informality, this study benefits from a new perspective – that of a community member adopting participant observation to research into a familiar culture. With data drawn from an extensive ethnographic study of the industry, this paper examines these matters with an emphasis on structure and the industry's overall political economy. Drawing from discourses on the new and old Nollywood labels and other current matters arising within the industry such as the MOPICON bill redraft, corporate financing and possibilities of regeneration, this paper exa...
This study investigates transformations in the Nigerian film industry, focusing specifically on a... more This study investigates transformations in the Nigerian film industry, focusing specifically on a segment of the industry known as Nollywood. Typically characterized as an informal industry due to its low budgets and unofficial modes of distribution, Nollywood is regularly referred to as a success story, accounting for $7.2 billion (1.42%) of Nigeria’s gross domestic product. Because of this success, the Nigerian government, under the President Goodluck Jonathan administration (2010-2015), introduced various mechanisms to formalize and economize Nollywood in the quest to maximize its potentials and diversify the Nigerian economy. This endeavour availed the industry of film fund, professional training and enhanced distribution. My study focuses on this specific area, addressing wider issues of debate relating to how countries seek to economically benefit from their film economies and the role policy plays in the formalization of film industries. Existing studies on Nollywood have con...
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