Bolanle Austen-Peters, the filmmaker, says the core challenge facing Nollywood is not a lack of skill, but an economic environment that makes high-quality productions a fast track to “financial ruin”.
Speaking at the just-concluded 5th Peace Anyiam-Osigwe Nigeria digital content regulation conference at the Muson Centre’s Shell Hall in Lagos, Austen-Peters detailed the severe financial constraints that force producers to compromise on their creative ambitions.
Held from November 18 to 19, the two-day conference, themed ‘From Volume to Value: The Future of the Nigerian Motion Picture Industry in the Digital Age,’ brought together a wide array of film and television practitioners, including producers, directors, actors, and scriptwriters.
Addressing the audience on Tuesday, the 56-year-old filmmaker argued that Nollywood’s struggle for quality is a direct result of an economic environment that makes high-budget, world-class productions financially unsustainable.
Austen-Peters challenged the common critique that Nigerian filmmakers lack an understanding of quality. Instead, she pinpointed a crippling combination of high costs and a limited distribution market as the primary constraints.
“When we bring in cinematographers from South Africa, from Europe, from America, you know the amount of money it costs us. It is not the same as using a local one. So when we talk about spending a lot of money, quality and distribution become a problem as well. We do all these films, who is buying them off us?” she asked.
Austen-Peters, who received a special recognition at the event for her immense contributions to the growth of Nollywood, also illustrated the dilemma with a pointed question to the audience.
“Who is going to buy a film that I spent $2 million producing in Nigeria? Exactly,” she asked.
The economic reality, she explained, forces producers to impose strict budgets to avoid financial ruin.
“We have limited platforms. So again, we’re handicapped. So when we talk about equality, is quality going to become financially rewarding? No. So when I’m making some decisions, I’m asking myself, ‘Hey, Joe, listen, we can’t spend more than N300 million for a Nigerian film. We can not spend more than N500 million, because if we do that, we’ll run into financial ruin,” she added.
Despite these challenges, Austen-Peters celebrated the resilience of Nigerian filmmakers.
“Yeah, so therefore, cut back. So that is telling you that it is not a lack of understanding of what quality is that is the problem in Nigeria. It is the absence of so many things that can make quality prevail in our environment that is stopping us. So when people come to preach to you about quality, you laugh, because you know that the person who is talking to you about quality will have more quality than the person,” she added.
“But your environment is hindering you. An environment where there is a lack of funding, a lack of adequate infrastructure, lack of capacity. So many things are hindering us, yet we keep pushing. We keep producing. We keep churning out content. The world keeps doing the same, and we keep saying ‘we are not going to give up’.
“In spite of the big boys leaving us, we say, ‘we are not giving up’. You have to celebrate the spirit of an average Nigerian story. We never wanted to give up. But unfortunately, whether we like it or not, the world’s becoming smaller and smaller. We live in a global village now.”
Shuaib Hussein, the chairman of the NFVCB, also spoke on the board’s achievements since he assumed office.
He, however, pointed out that the NFVCB struggles with people illegally uploading and distributing films online without proper classification or licensing.
“Despite the progress that we have recorded, our industry continues to face challenges that demand urgent attention. One of the most pressing issues is the unauthorised uploading, streaming, and distribution of films on online platforms, especially the YouTube platforms and other digital channels, without recourse to the NFVCB for classification or licensing,” he said.
The event culminated in a special reception honouring 23 veteran film practitioners, including Rita Dominic, Sam Dede, and Segun Arinze, who are celebrating their 50th and 60th birthdays this year.
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