Chinyere Okoye
24 September 2009
opinion
Lagos — Professional skills, a well-thought-out socio-cultural policy, training and capacity building are basic to the development of a film industry anywhere in the world. The human mind is difficult to just change. But it is not beyond correcting considering the fact that, over the course of Hollywood's history, regulatory systems evolved around film development agencies in reaction to variables like changing viewing audience, the aspirations of its filmmakers, as well as legal pressures to preserve the long-term interests and strategy to attain its objectives.
The tremendous impact of Hausa films, their ways of thinking, their habits perception, and their attitude to the world, work, family and neighbours, has helped to shape implications for their development in recent times. These films invariably dictated their authority over values and lives, as a counter-force against the influence of films from other parts of Nigeria and foreign films with adverse values contained in imported cultures threatening the survival of peoples' good values. They are not just a threat to those good values, like the Indian style songs and Hausa girls in tightly fitted outfits and not about pornographic films.
Traditional films are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. Imagine a regime where filmmaker regulates his own thoughts and vision.
In Nigeria, notable producers and directors, after a while, also thought it wise to start presenting movies in their ethnic languages, as a means of preserving the language, as well as projecting the culture and ethnic ideals. The effect of this is that, aside from Nollywood, they also have a thriving Yoruba movie industry that is standard. Apart from the booming market for Yoruba movies, that occupy a place of pride, Hausa movies are fast going on extinction, same to Igbo movies, and other ethnic languages.
Igbo's are found in every part of Nigeria and the world, excelling in conducting their businesses and contributing to the development of their host communities. Nothing stops them from striving to keep their cultural and ethnic identity alive, with the same vigour. Lack of initiative, some said.
Nollywood is in this position because Igbo producers and directors are simply not taking the right initiatives. Though, they are commended for making movies that every Nigerian can understand, they must realise that language is the most important feature of cultural identity.
In view of this, many parents still think they are being elitist if their children spoke English first. So, children are discouraged from speaking their native language even in their homes. "That is the height of ignorance. Yet these people think they are being civilized,"
Indeed, it is common knowledge that an increasing number of children born to Nigerians do not speak their native language.
It is frightening to note that 50 per cent of our children do not speak their mother tongue and hardly know where they come from. If the trend continues, within the next two decades, the languages could be on its way to extinction. Drastic action is, therefore, needed to elevate the use of the other languages, and the value placed on it.
In this context, the fledging movie industry in Nigeria lends itself as a credible tool. Movie producers and directors must shun the consistent downgrading of the influence, importance and relevance of other languages to the general pool of a great Nigerian cultural matrix.
The question of limiting their audience should not arise. It is a known fact that movie fans of other ethnic extractions can watch Yoruba movies, since the English sub-title provides the bridge.
In view of all these, the fact remains that movie directors and producers have no tenable excuses. They should simply start taking the right initiatives. Perhaps, by so doing, they might just save the day.
Again, the relevance of indigenous languages, is an issue that has generated lively debates among scholars, came to fore again at the third edition of 'Behind the Screen', a festival of indigenous African films, held from August 23 to 28, 2009, in Akure, Ondo State.
With 'The Impact and Survival of Indigenous Languages in Films' as its theme, the weeklong festival organized by Remdel Optimum Communications, a movie production and distribution company, provided a forum to examine how making films in native languages, like writing in local languages, could aid the propagation and preservation of African culture.
According to Director General, Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), Tunde Babawale, the historian began with the arrival of cinema in Africa in the 1900s, the first African production, 'Afrique Sur Seine' (1955) produced in Paris by a group of African students, eventually touching on filmmaking in Nigeria, he said.
Babawale disclosed that Nigeria's first feature film was produced in 1957 when Federal Films made 'Moral Disarmament'. 'Bound for Lagos' and 'Culture in Transition' followed in 1962 and 1963. The first independent film, an adaptation of Wole Soyinka's 'Kongi's Harvest' was made in 1970.
Indigenous feature films in Yoruba, including 'Aiye', 'Jayesimi', 'Orun Mooru', 'Aare Agbaye' and others, followed. Babawale also traced the transition from celluloid to home video, noting that, "Language confers on films an enduring visual character, for it is language that drives the action."
He highlighted the impact of indigenous languages in films to include preservation of language, propagation of culture, encouragement of language learning; they also help in role interpretation, and enhance film's aesthetic values.
For African languages to survive, Babawale stated that increasing the production of films in indigenous languages, raising the quality of the movies, engaging professional translators and evolving a competitive marketing strategy will go a long way to sustain our cultural heritage in Nigeria.
To broaden the audience, accommodate a wider range of actors and generally take the whole thing to the next level, initiatives like the festival are meant to uplift culture, production of cartoons in cultural languages to attract children and teach them.
He also mentioned the need to encourage and celebrate indigenous writers and proposed a translation policy that would make indigenous language films accessible to non-speakers.
Why are there not enough Igbo movies despite the fact that actors, producers and directors of Igbo ethnic extraction abound in Nollywood?
Most Nollywood movies have village scenes and are shooting in the eastern part of Nigeria. Though these parts are played in English language, there is usually an infusion of Igbo phrases here and there. Some perceived this as "patriotism" and lack of ethnic bias.
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