GHOSTLY BLISS: THE COMMERCIAL POWERS OF DARKNESS IN NOLLYWOOD [engl.]
"Living in Bondage" is generally considered the film that got the Nollywood film industry going 20 years ago. Driven by nothing but lust and greed, the protagonist transforms into an evil spirit – a plot that triggers a wave of ghost films which turns Lagos into the capital of the one the largest film-making nations in the world. The Nollywood specialists Wenner and Shaibu, both jury members for the African Movie Academy Awards, present through several examples the success story generated by the connection between traditional beliefs and modern media in Nigeria. Titles such as "Haunted" or "Mad Ghost" promise insights into the classical Nollywood world of entertainment, whereas newer productions like "The Figurine" and "Aramotu" show how ghosts and spiritual forces take up the challenges of contemporary life.
Dorothee Wenner studied German literature and history in Hamburg and currently works as a freelance journalist, author, and filmmaker. Since 1990 she is a member of the selection committee of the International Forum/Berlinale and scouts the Indian and African cinema scene for the festival as its “ambassador”. She is a member of the prestigious African Movie Academy Award (AMAA) jury Lagos/Nigeria.
Husseini Shaibu, performing artist, journalist and film critic, writes for Nigeria’s flagship newspaper-The Guardian. He is an insider from Nigeria’s, “Nollywood”-film industry and he is reputed to be one of the most consistent documentarists of the Nigerian home video industry. An Alumnus of the Berlinale Talent Campus Press, Shaibu is the Chairman of the Selection Commitee of the prestigious African Movie Academy Award (AMAA), Secretary General of the Nigerian section of FIPRESCI and the Federation of African Film Critics (FAFC) and author of Moviedom....the Nollywood Narratives. Clips on the Pioneers 1&2. www.fipresci.org