Nigeria is now the world’s second-largest movie producer, but film quality has not always been tops.

 
Is being called “Nollywood sur Seine” – a Nigerian film festival, which wrapped up its third edition in Paris Sunday. Nigeria is now the world’s second-largest movie producer, but film quality has not always been tops. That is changing, however.

Move over Hollywood. After India’s famous “Bollywood”, Nigeria’s “Nollywood” is now the world’s second-largest filmmaker, producing 2,000 or more movies every year.
Some of the best have been showcased at Nollywood Week, a film festival that wrapped up its third edition in Paris.

Nigeria may be an Anglophone country, but festival organiser Serge Noukoue said it makes sense to hold the festival in the French capital.

“Paris is the world’s cinema capital in a way. It’s a really important city for cinema. It’s a city that matters and I believe Nollywood is a cinema that matters. I believe it just makes sense to have a platform here for Nollywood, and especially for Nollywood’s finest films,” said Noukoue.

The festival aired a mix of movies, including drama, comedy and even a zombie thriller. Also in the line-up were episodes of the popular Nigerian TV series Before Thirty, about the pressures faced by Nigerian women to get married by that age.

The festival opened with Jimmy Goes to Nollywood, a documentary about Haitian actor Jimmy Jean-Louis discovering the film industry. Rachid Dhibou co-directed the movie.
He said at the beginning, people laughed at Nigerian movies because they were cobbled together on a low budget. But today, their quality is much better and they’re really giving Nigeria an international stature.