Entertainment (Commonwealth Union) _ Veteran actor and filmmaker Omoni Oboli has added to the growing conversations on the originality of the Nigerian film industry. Speaking in a recent interview on YouTube, the 46-year-old Nollywood star made a daring claim that “Nollywood has more original stories than Hollywood”.
Oboli, having gained the experience of more than two decades in the industry, states that originality has never been an issue with their cinema, emphasising that Nigerian storytellers and filmmakers always delivered unique narratives, despite the general stereotypical impression that Nigerian cinema is down to a formula.
The filmmaker’s statements challenge a prevalent criticism of Nollywood – the predictable nature of its films. Oboli’s dismissiveness of the criticism is based on her claim that Hollywood blockbusters, too, are most often just as much, or even more, predictable.
She went on to frame the structure of Hollywood films, referring to more popular genres such as romantic comedies and superhero films, and pointed out that the audience is always aware that the superhero will be “saving the day”, or that the romantic leads of romcoms are always going to end up together by the end of the film.
Beyond its surface value, the director and producer asserted that a film’s value lies in its ability to tell a story and its creative journey, not in its ability to surprise the audience.
Her comments mark a significant shift in the global perception of the Nigerian film industry, especially during a time when its works are ascending through the ranks of international cinema, emerging from its local origins and spreading out to reach worldwide audiences via streaming platforms such as Netflix and YouTube.
Oboli appreciates the role of YouTube in the modern-day cinema industry, elaborating on its ability to display the positivity of the industry’s rapidly increasing reach. She also focuses on how it specifies their audience, saying, “Sometimes you see some countries and you’re like, really? Do they watch our movies there?” – a vital factor that influences the production processes of films.
The filmmaker believes the global appeal of Nigerian cinema lies in the richness of its culture and how it is transformed into storytelling to make it resonate with the audience. Straying from strategies involving repetitive popular tropes that are often used by major Hollywood franchises, Nollywood’s filmmakers tend to draw from its abundant traditions, history and cultural beliefs.
A game-changing Movie director, scriptwriter and producer Omoni Oboli is an experienced veteran who has engaged in many mainstream productions throughout the span of her career, including The Figurine (2009), Anchor Baby (2010), Being Mrs Elliot (2014) and Fifty (2015).
One of her credited screenplays, The Rivals, which she co-produced, became the first Nollywood film to be premiered at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival since it was established in 2003.
Oboli is also the first Nigerian actress to have won the award for best actress at two different international festivals – the Harlem International Film Festival and the Los Angeles Movie Awards – which she received for her lead role in Anchor Baby.
