Film and PIracy #3: Piracy hurting the 2nd largest film producer?

[Pranesh Prakash]

Dear all,
A bit more about the Nigerian film industry and the "piracy problem" it
faces, from the Reuters blog: http://tr.im/xCoY

This piece assumes that piracy is a black-and-white issue, and that it
is harmful.

Regards,
Pranesh

http://tr.im/xCoY

The first “[Nollywood][1]” film, “Living in Bondage”, was a tale of
witchcraft, money and betrayal produced by Okechukwu Ogunjiofor.

 [1]: http://www.nollywood.com/

That was back in 1992. Today, [Nigeria’s $450 million home video
industry ][2]is the third biggest in the world, after Hollywood and
Bollywood.

 [2]: http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSTRE52525Y20090306

“I actually set out to be a film maker, so I got my training, came to
Lagos. But since I could not do a thing on celluloid … I said to myself
that there must be a way around it, there must be a new way to do the
old things and that new way was trying to invent, you know, to
experiment with VHS cameras. That experiment was what we did with
‘Living with Bondage’ and today that experiment has culminated into what
we find and people call Nollywood,” Ogunjiofor told Reuters Africa Journal.

Despite the successes, money and betrayal still play their part. Film
piracy means millions of dollars a year leach out of the industry.

An average Nollywood film sells about 50,000 copies, yet in Lagos alone
millions of bootleg copies go for just $1, undercutting Nollywood’s
price of $2.

Fed up with the pirates, Ogunjiofor, who has pioneered an [award scheme
][3]to reward production excellence in the film industry, has now turned
to TV drama and soap operas and wants to see more government support,
and legal backing, to help film-makers build a reputable industry.

 [3]: http://www.tava-awards.com/

“As long as you are doing a good movie, you are a candidate of piracy.
From the moment you go on location, they start buying materials to wait
for your job,” Ogunjiofor said.

“Piracy is so bad, so bad that almost every Friday here trailer loads of
CDs made in Nigeria are crossing borders.”

--
Pranesh Prakash
Programme Manager
Centre for Internet and Society
W: http://cis-india.org | T: [phone]



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