As i was surfing through the net today i stumbled on a list of countries (African Included) via Wikipedia that had once submitted their Movies since 1947 till date to get a chance of winning an Oscar for 'Best Language Film' category, even country like kenya has garnered a nomination, and so many African countries that is said that Nollywood is better than has even made an impact by submitting theirs.

My question then goes... what's that thing that is keeping us from submitting? when African countries we are better than had done so. We produced hundreds of language movies everyday - what's really the problem?

List below...

cnario, prof800, lynx200, filmdirector, orikinla, sholay2011, villageboi, free2rhyme, briareos, speedyboi, seun - your contributions are highly needed.

last list below...

Blackman emancipate yourself from mental slavery.

Nollywood needs to improve, no doubt

Getting an Oscar shouldn't be seen as the standard

with which movie wey dem produce

tonyayo1:
As i was surfing through the net today i stumbled on a list of countries (African Included) via Wikipedia that had once submitted their Movies since 1947 till date to get a chance of winning an Oscar for 'Best Language Film' category, even country like kenya has garnered a nomination, and so many African countries that is said that Nollywood is better than has even made an impact by submitting theirs.

My question then goes... what's that thing that is keeping us from submitting? when African countries we are better than had done so. We produced hundreds of language movies everyday - what's really the problem?

List below...

This topic has been done again and again here on NL.

All I will say this time is read back the bolded parts and my question to you is... Have you actually seen a single one of the 'nominated' talk less of winning films by any African country? Let's not even add the-rest-of-the-world... if you had seen any you would never state that 'we are better than...' because we are not; not in any way, shape or form.
Nollywood is HUGE and that does not mean Nollywood is 'quality'. Some of the films might look like quality in comparison to the regular Nollywood trash... now put those so-called quality films on the world stage and they rarely meet up.

Anyi3:
Blackman emancipate yourself from mental slavery.

Anyi, it's so easy to go down this route... but what 'in the world' does that even mean? How many of our highly qualified medical doctors operate on a babalawo level? None!
Nigerian doctors, surgeons and specialists are some of the very best of the best the world over... why have you not told any of them to 'emancipate themselves from mental slavery' and remain quacks and village bone-setters? You wouldn't dare!

You are very right in that getting an Oscar shouldn't be seen as the standard... it isn't seen as the standard anywhere, however, the quality of the films that can make it to the Oscars and any of the top 7 or so film festivals in the world should be the 'standard quality' we strive for. (Let us seriously not make the mistake of thinking a 'sharp' picture means quality because it absolutely doesn't). Having said that, should Nigeria not want to win the World Cup or bring home a load of Olympic Gold medals? Why not? So when it comes to an Oscar why does it become "Ah mental slavery tinz"? Because you know for a fact that we are way waaaaaay behind when it comes to worldwide-quality of filmmaking. Then some will say "But they (the films) are quality when it comes to the Nigerian standard". I beg, wetin be 'Nigerian Standard'? What have we ever invented that gives us a 'Nigerian standard'? Is it Nigerian standard of measuring units of weight or the Nigerian standard of measuring units of time? Nigerian what?? Even common corruption and thief-thief no be we invent am.
So with all honesty, "Blackman emancipate yourself from mental slavery", which has been said so many times on NL when the question of the Oscars comes up, is actually one of the most ridiculous things ever said here in relation to winning an award or gold medal or being amongst the very best of the best... after all every Nigerian claims they came 1st in class... na who come 2nd or 14th or 2nd-to-last? LMAO!

Simple fact - we're still generally a nation of low quality filmmakers and predominantly lazy ones too. Forget our ego wey big pass anything on the planet it is the simple truth.

Back to TonyAyo -

tonyayo1:
My question then goes... what's that thing that is keeping us from submitting?

To be honest... nothing. You really have to ask the Nigerian Oscar Committee that question BUT... how many Nollywood films have you ever seen that are 'finished' in the minimum required 'resolution' & format and the minimum required audio configuration?... and that is just for starters.

But seriously wetin konsign us with Oscars sef when we still dey crawl... still dey learn how to change crawling gear into reverse and proper forwards? But we wan fly because Oscar na the latest bling for us abi? Let's not be fooled by those hundreds of backwater never-heard-of-before awards we dey pack for inside Ghana-must-go bag take come back to our shores.
Commonest of dramas we never sabi do sef yet every other reigning Nollywood film is a nonsense rom-com or slapstick comedy. And some plain drab comedy is pretty much the biggest film to have ever put Nigerians on a high to the extent that we spent almost (N200m?) at the cinemas. Oh please!!
Jokes apart, before anyone vex... e no matter after all for every thread we have the custom of starting with "...but I don't watch Nollywood films."

So if an Oscar nomination or win ever happens for Nigeria it will happen only when it happens... it can't be forced. And if we're not making the kind of films that get anywhere near there then it won't happen... no be Nigerian birthright thing.
Even though I have not seen the film yet and I don't know the status of it within the 'rules'... I'm rooting for the film I think is our best chance yet as a foreign language submission... 'Ojuju'. It's the 'different' out-of-the-box thinking we should try doing every now and then.


...Ah and to think I only logged on to read the Arrow thread - #TeamOlicity dayum, they kissed some serious kissings!!

It is just as VillageBoi as said. We've gone over this before. We still hope for the best.

Hopefully, someday oneday.

The day Nigerian movies gets Oscar nomination is the day I start watching Naija movies again.

VillageBoi:


Having said that, should Nigeria not want to win the World Cup or bring home a load of Olympic Gold medals? Why not? So when it comes to an Oscar why does it become "Ah mental slavery tinz"?

This is the problem i have with Nigerian audience and their sarcasm, that garnering an Oscar award isn't standard, but winning a World cup is... thanks villageboi for your comment, it really helps... but can ojuju be considered as 'language film' as it is a pidgin speaking movie?

Kezifils:
The day Nigerian movies gets Oscar nomination is the day I start watching Naija movies again.

What the hell are you doing here when you don't watch Nigerian Movie?

VillageBoi:



Anyi, it's so easy to go down this route... but what 'in the world' does that even mean? How many of our highly qualified medical doctors operate on a babalawo level? None!
Nigerian doctors, surgeons and specialists are some of the very best of the best the world over... why have you not told any of them to 'emancipate themselves from mental slavery' and remain quacks and village bone-setters? You wouldn't dare!

You are very right in that getting an Oscar shouldn't be seen as the standard... it isn't seen as the standard anywhere, however, the quality of the films that can make it to the Oscars and any of the top 7 or so film festivals in the world should be the 'standard quality' we strive for. (Let us seriously not make the mistake of thinking a 'sharp' picture means quality because it absolutely doesn't). Having said that, should Nigeria not want to win the World Cup or bring home a load of Olympic Gold medals? Why not? So when it comes to an Oscar why does it become "Ah mental slavery tinz"? Because you know for a fact that we are way waaaaaay behind when it comes to worldwide-quality of filmmaking. Then some will say "But they (the films) are quality when it comes to the Nigerian standard". I beg, wetin be 'Nigerian Standard'? What have we ever invented that gives us a 'Nigerian standard'? Is it Nigerian standard of measuring units of weight or the Nigerian standard of measuring units of time? Nigerian what?? Even common corruption and thief-thief no be we invent am.
So with all honesty, "Blackman emancipate yourself from mental slavery", which has been said so many times on NL when the question of the Oscars comes up, is actually one of the most ridiculous things ever said here in relation to winning an award or gold medal or being amongst the very best of the best... after all every Nigerian claims they came 1st in class... na who come 2nd or 14th or 2nd-to-last? LMAO!

Simple fact - we're still generally a nation of low quality filmmakers and predominantly lazy ones too. Forget our ego wey big pass anything on the planet it is the simple truth.

You could have quoted my entire post. I never said our films are already good the way they are. Neither implied we shouldn't strive to be international standard in other professions. Just saying the Oscar isn't the end game. Just improve the movie industry because anything worth doing is worth doing well.

tonyayo1:


What the hell are you doing here when you don't watch Nigerian Movie?

Just curious

tonyayo1:


This is the problem i have with Nigerian audience and their sarcasm, that garnering an Oscar award isn't standard, but winning a World cup is... thanks villageboi for your comment, it really helps... but can ojuju be considered as 'language film' as it is a pidgin speaking movie?

Oh boy no mind our people, we can be odd sometimes shaa.

Ojuju is a 'foreign language' film... it's NOT English. Remove all the subtitles and ask any english-speaking Yank or Brit to say what's just been said on screen - they won't have a clue as it is a foreign language.

prof800:
It is just as VillageBoi as said. We've gone over this before. We still hope for the best.

Hopefully, someday oneday.

Oga Prof, how now? I'm sure when the Nigerian Oscar Committee comes across a film that ticks the boxes they will submit it. It's no longer 'if' Nigeria will submit one but 'when'. As for getting a nomination... different story but can happen... it's only rocket science

Anyi3:


You could have quoted my entire post. I never said our films are already good the way they are. Neither implied we shouldn't strive to be international standard in other professions. Just saying the Oscar isn't the end game. Just improve the movie industry because anything worth doing is worth doing well.

Hi Aniy, I didn't want to quote your entire initial post as all I wanted to talk about was you telling the OP that he needed to emancipate himself from mental slavery. Well he doesn't and I'm sure you don't even know the OP.

On the other points - Nowhere in my post did I say YOU said our films are good they way they are. Nor did I say you said we don't need to strive to be of an international standard when it comes to other professions - please read the post again and don't twist things.
You did, however, clearly state that 'Nigerians wanting or wishing or asking why Nollywood isn't aiming for the Oscars are screwed up black men suffering from mental slavery' and I said that was a load of rubbish and stated examples of us striving for the top accolades in other fields... absolutely nothing wrong with anyone wanting that sort of recognition.

Again you are very right in saying "anything worth doing is worth doing well."... hopefully our filmmakers heard word!

VillageBoi:

Hi Aniy, I didn't want to quote your entire initial post as all I wanted to talk about was you telling the OP that he needed to emancipate himself from mental slavery. Well he doesn't and I'm sure you don't even know the OP.

On the other points - Nowhere in my post did I say YOU said our films are good they way they are. Nor did I say you said we don't need to strive to be of an international standard when it comes to other professions - please read the post again and don't twist things.
You did, however, clearly state that 'Nigerians wanting or wishing or asking why Nollywood isn't aiming for the Oscars are screwed up black men suffering from mental slavery' and I said that was a load of rubbish and stated examples of us striving for the top accolades in other fields... absolutely nothing wrong with anyone wanting that sort of recognition.

Again you are very right in saying "anything worth doing is worth doing well."... hopefully our filmmakers heard word!

My point is we can aim to be so good that we have our own African awards and then who knows become great enough that the West submit films to us. The main point of the OP is WHEN WOULD A NIGERIAN FILM GET AN OSCAR NOMINATION? Emphasis on the OSCAR. That's not the reason we should improve our movie industry in the first place. Improve it because it is bad....simple.

Anyi3:


My point is we can aim to be so good that we have our own African awards and then who knows become great enough that the West submit films to us. The main point of the OP is WHEN WOULD A NIGERIAN FILM GET AN OSCAR NOMINATION? Emphasis on the OSCAR. That's not the reason we should improve our movie industry in the first place. Improve it because it is bad....simple.

But this right here is the problem. When it comes to African filmmaking, who are we really? Our 'own' history we don't know and don't care (didn't I hear something like we're not even teaching 'our history' in schools anymore?) so why would we even bother with the history of others? And we definitely don't give a hoot about African history... let's actually say 'African film history' to keep it on topic... why should we when we are the self-proclaimed 'Lion of Africa' and all others are just 'commoners'? The reason I'm saying this, to stress this point again, is you stated, "My point is we can aim to be so good that we have our own African awards and then who knows become great enough that the West submit films to us." Who do you mean by 'we'? Nigeria? Africa?
Come on bro, 'we' DO have 'International' film festivals that are highly rated in the West and the West has been submitting films there for years! From the US to Germany to France to Italy... even far away China. For example, the Durban International Film Festival or FESPACO held in Burkina Faso that started way back in 1969 or even the newer Zanzibar International Film Festival?? Ahhhhh, they are not Nigerian so we can't claim 'bragging rights' there. Only in the minds of Nigerians is Nigeria/Nollywood the spotlight/hub of African filmmaking... and truth be told we are so not and never have been. We could be but that is highly doubtful.

Secondly, the main points of the OP were -

tonyayo1:

My question then goes... what's that thing that is keeping us from submitting? when African countries we are better than had done so. We produced hundreds of language movies everyday - what's really the problem?

And of course his first main point from the thread title - "When Are We Going To Celebrate Nollywood For Getting Just An Oscar Nomination?"

Am I wrong in thinking you have an issues with his questions? I think they are perfectly valid questions even though we've debated this topic at least a couple of other times. And why not since Nigerians were, this year, shocked to see Mauritania (a country 'we' didn't even know makes films sef) not only submit to the Oscars 'for the very first time' but also get 'nominated' for the film 'Timbuktu'.
Furthermore, the OP never states that the OSCARS is the reason for Nollywood/Nigerian filmmaking to get better.

Anyi3:
Improve it because it is bad....simple.

This I agree with 110%

@OP

Villageboi:

Having said that, should Nigeria not want to win the World Cup or bring home a load of Olympic Gold medals? Why not? So when it comes to an Oscar why does it become "Ah mental slavery tinz"?

Really now? You are comparing world cup, olympics...to Oscars, grammys et al? They are not even close to being comparable!!! There's a reason they write "international" event at back of World cup etc, and there's a reason they add "American" award to Oscar etc. The World cup etc have the involvement of all the participating countries; The current president of FIFA is swiss, the Vice is Cameroonian. In World cup etc, all the countries are placed on the same pedestal, and there's no "foreign language" or "African" category for whatever reason! (There is the African Champion, but it applies to everyother continent)....the method of scoring is so open and not debatable (if you score highest goal-points, no one will deny you your cup), there are referees/judges from all over the world (Shebi Agbani Darego was one of the judges in the just concluded Miss World sef?....this kinda diversity help bring to the table the idea of "beauty" from different parts of the world, hence bias is minimal). These events are sponsored by multinational companies from all over the world. they are not a one-country/region affair....it's okay for any national to want to win World cup, olympics, miss world etc, cos its not an "American/British" event.

Oscar et al on the other hand, are just some American "experts" sitting in a "dark room" to decide what a "good" film/music is or not, based on their American ideologies...they are obviously called "American" awards, and there's no involvement of Non Americans in their administration and decision-making, they even created "foreign" category for you people to fight over, and to remind you that your film/music is "foreign" and not gonna be judged on the same level with theirs. Until I see more brilliant films from other parts of the world (which are really many these days)(not African) win MAJOR categories in Oscar REGULARLY, it remains an American Award and that's it! People need to suck it up and accept that, cos its fact. I always like to mention India as a booming industry that has not won Oscar ever! (not like India makes brilliant films anyway), but "Like Stars on Earth" is a master piece, which is a thousand times better than that SlumDog nonsense. Yet it wasn't nominated for "foreign-language"....if the Oscar was a fair award, that film should in fact get nominations in "best screenplay" and some other major categories. But SlumDog was getting awards for whatever reasons. Geez! Yea, Nollywood really needs to continue to improve (and most importantly I want the business aspect to improve significantly), but Oscar can go choke on a d!ck!!!! Thank you very much.

VillageBoi:
Only in the minds of Nigerians is Nigeria/Nollywood the spotlight/hub of African filmmaking... and truth be told we are so not and never have been. We could be but that is highly doubtful. [...] And why not since Nigerians were, this year, shocked to see Mauritania (a country 'we' didn't even know makes films sef) not only submit to the Oscars 'for the very first time' but also get 'nominated' for the film 'Timbuktu'.

Another eeeeerm..... hogwash! What makes a country a filmmaking hub please? well, last I checked it is based on things like:
1.How viable the industry is!
2.The number of films being produced
3.Revenue generation
4.Following and influence across the world, amongst others.
It is not based on producing two or three Government sponsored films a year, that usually have no cult following and the actors largely would remain unknown forever, it is not based on submitting or getting nominated for oscar, it isn't based on having a government funded film festivals, heck it's not even based on the quality of films. When did the criteria for a film hub change? Well, Nollywood is undisputedly actually the African Film hub! And its not just in the mind of Nigerians.....It's a known fact all over. Even New York Times in its ignorance is aware of that! I have not seen any other African country being published by the media (local and foreign) as the "African film hub". Not once! Read articles on Film Industry; Nigeria is rarely (if at all) left out! But Mauritania? who mentions that country in articles about film industry? No one! Why? Cos it's not a filmmaking Nation! Period! I don't care if Tinbaku or whatever got nominated for Augustine (abi shey na oscar ). It still wouldn't make Mauritania a filmmaking country, talkless of being a filmhub...well atleast until they increase the frequency of production above one film in 20 years, for a start.

speedyboi:

...it remains an American Award and that's it! People need to suck it up and accept that, cos its fact.

Thanks for the lengthy post telling us it's an American award; not that anyone in this thread or any of the others has said it isn't (if I remember correctly)... come on any 5yr old with a little bit of grey matter knows that so your point is what exactly?

speedyboi:

I always like to mention India as a booming industry that has not won Oscar ever! (not like India makes brilliant films anyway)

India as a nation hasn't won an Oscar and so what? We need to care about that because? They've had a lot of nominations and Indian people have won for their work in costume, sound mixing, original score and so on... but then again - so what?
According to you it's not like India makes brilliant films anyway... so 'you people' that believe your 'mediocre' should be given 'birthright awards'... welcome to the real world because that's not going to happen at the level of filmmaking I was talking about. And I know fully well that you DID read what was written but decided to pick a 'selective' beef with the Oscars. Here it is again -

VillageBoi:

You are very right in that getting an Oscar shouldn't be seen as the standard... it isn't seen as the standard anywhere, however, the quality of the films that can make it to the Oscars and any of the top 7 or so film festivals in the world should be the 'standard quality' we strive for.

Oh and Indian films have won various awards at Cannes, Sundance, Venice, Berlinale and pretty much every prestigious film festival worldwide... just saying since you're making a case for India.
And just to add... everyone knows the 'Oscar award' judges are clueless and biased; yet it remains one of the most talked about awards every year and will remain so for a very long time to come. Additional FACT, nations from around the world will continue to submit films in various categories so suck it up or keep crying your eyes out. Even your Indian friends have been submitting almost every year since 1957.

speedyboi:
Well, Nollywood is undisputedly actually the African Film hub! And its not just in the mind of Nigerians.....It's a known fact all over.

I'm not even going into this debate with you. If you believe that churning out the number of films we do with a very miniscule number having any form of quality makes Nollywood the undisputed hub of African filmmaking then so be it.

VillageBoi:

Thanks for the lengthy post telling us it's an American award; not that anyone in this thread or any of the others has said it isn't (if I remember correctly)... come on any 5yr old with a little bit of grey matter knows that so your point is what exactly?

Thank God we finally agree on that. Took you a while

VillageBoi:

I'm not even going into this debate with you. If you believe that churning out the number of films we do with a very miniscule number having any form of quality makes Nollywood the undisputed hub of African filmmaking then so be it.

Well, whether you agree or not, that's the fact. You seem to be confusing the meaning of a "hub"; you don't have to produce the "best quality" to be a hub of something. Discussing quality is another topic altogether. Yes, India is the Asian film hub! Even though Hong Kong, korea, etc produce much better films. Yes, China is the world's manufacturing hub, it doesn't mean they now produce at par with Germany. I hope you gerrit now? A hub is a place where a bulk of an activity is taking place! A place that is very popular for the activity, where more revenue is generated. In terms of entertainment; it is also a place where the practitioners have higher star quality.

If South Africa for example is more of a film hub than Nigeria, why are their recent major films casting Nigerian actors in lead? OC "star" for Ayanda, Nse is also shooting one presently in a starring role. Looks like how we were casting Thandie Newton and Chiwetel of Hollywood in HOAYS. When did Naija film cast any South African actor? Even the Ghanaian actors wey dem dey put for lead, na for Naija films dem get their popularity...we didn't just "borrow" them from Ghana to help us sell film.

Lemme summarize my point with this apt quotes from amazing filmmakers.

"What others have built for themselves is theirs. If they invite you, it is on their own terms. Build your own institutions Africa!" - Mildred Okwo

"The Oscars is not my benchmark. The Hollywood has done very good for themselves. We are trying to build that here. We are trying to build an industry that can stand by itself. Award ourselves, credit ourselves, and appreciate ourselves." - Genevieve Nnaji

Now that's all I'm saying.

speedyboi:
Lemme summarize my point with this apt quotes from amazing filmmakers.

"What others have built for themselves is theirs. If they invite you, it is on their own terms. Build your own institutions Africa!" - Mildred Okwo

"The Oscars is not my benchmark. The Hollywood has done very good for themselves. We are trying to build that here. We are trying to build an industry that can stand by itself. Award ourselves, credit ourselves, and appreciate ourselves." - Genevieve Nnaji

Now that's all I'm saying.

I agree with this.



But here's what I'm saying.

In traditional Africa, you are not seen as the "ultimate hunter" if you have not killed an elephant (Ódé á pérín). Not that you have to keep looking for elephants to kill. You might not even be around regions where elephants wander but when you come across one, you don't run away - you try to hunt it (even if you're already a celebrated Lion hunter).

We have to build a platform for ourselves in Africa to celebrate ourselves. But if and when the opportunity comes to grab an Oscar it should not be something we should deliberately ignore (even if we have a credible platform for celebrating our own excellence).

prof800:
In traditional Africa, you are not seen as the "ultimate hunter" if you have not killed an elephant (Ódé á pérín). Not that you have to keep looking for elephants to kill. You might not even be around regions where elephants wander but when you come across one, you don't run away - you try to hunt it (even if you're already a celebrated Lion hunter).

Okay, but Oscar is not the "elephant" for any industry asides Hollywood. World cup is an "elephant" for football, Miss World is the elephant for the modelling world, Olympics is the elephant for sports etc....but the film industry really doesn't have an elephant yet, on a world scale; no matter how much Oscar tries to hype itself....the individual industries are just doing their own thing.

So basically, Oscar should not even be compared with World cup or any other international events (like some people here have tried to). It doesn't make sense to question people who want Nigeria to get a world cup, but do not care for Oscars. It's just like calling it hypocritical for someone to be against Nigeria seeking help from the American Government, but wants help from the United Nations. See? How does US and United Nations match for comparison?

prof800:
We have to build a platform for ourselves in Africa to celebrate ourselves. But if and when the opportunity comes to grab an Oscar it should not be something we should deliberately ignore (even if we have a credible platform for celebrating our own excellence).

Now I'm not averse to Nigeria submitting for Oscars foreign language award, but I have a problem with people seeing it as the "ultimate end goal"....or that "big achievement" we should fight for! NO! Our ONLY goal is to keep building this industry we have, and improving it in every step of the way! If Oscar comes along the way, all well and good. Don't do like South Africa and use ten years to get ready and prepare that one film specifically for an oscar; but at the end of it all, everything gets back to normal again. NO.