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| Nigerian movies now streamed worldwide |
1/12/2007 |
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As the Nollywood movie industry''s fame rapidly moves beyond its Nigerian homeland, entrepreneurs see to it that a worldwide audience now gets access to Africa''s large film production. The interest has been immense since online video streaming and rental of Nollywood videos has become available.
Chidum Okwue at Izogn Movies feels the beat of Nigeria''s successes with its film industry. Being the caretaker of one of the leading rentals and online streamers of African movies and himself of Nigerian descent, he is in particular following Nollywood''s incredible production, which by now is close to realising 2,000 movies annually.
"By now, there are so many great actors, actresses and directors in Nigeria, it is very difficult to single out only a few as recommendations for Nollywood beginners," Chidum told afrol News. At Izogn Movies'' website, however, over 1,000 great Nigerian titles have been handpicked for starters and for advanced consumers of Africa''s most expanding industry - all with reviews, recommendations and consumers'' comments. Some are even exclusively distributed by Izogn.
And Chidum himself takes no little pride in helping Africa''s most vibrant film industry in reaching new customers all over the world. "Nollywood, as you know, is extremely important to the Nigerian economy," Chidum says. "This industry releases a ton of movies each year, but until recently, an emphasis on quality was lacking. In my view, it was all about making money, and many of the movies suffered."
However, he goes on, "I feel as of late, the quality of Nollywood movies - picture, sound, story and acting - has begun to improve dramatically. We are seeing actors turn into superstars and the fans definitely love it. We have also seen new, independent movie studios spur up, which are taking a different approach to ''Nollywood films''," Chidum explains.
"Instead of just shooting a title and distributing with little promotion, they are allotting more of the budget towards promotion. Many of these movies are brought to the US and UK and are featured in independent theatres. I am really proud of these companies - they are raising the level of quality in Nigerian entertainment by investing more into the production - and it shows in the quality of the movie."
The boom of the Nollywood industry and the worldwide audience that is slowly discovering these films documents Chidum''s feelings that quality stories and stars have emerged in Nigeria. Izogn Movies alone is reaching out to the entire globe with its video streaming service. Customers - normally paying US $1.99 for each movie they stream for a one-week viewing - are mostly from the US, UK and English-spoken Africa, but include exotics as Jamaica, Iceland, Ukraine
Video cover of "Agbefo":
«Gangster queen with difficult childhood.»
© Izogn Movies / afrol News
and Korea. Still, Chidum holds, most are from the African Diaspora, but others have also started enjoying the sweet flavours of African films.
Asked to recommend a couple of Nigerian movies that are "a must" for both beginners and those familiar with Nollywood, Chidum refers afrol News to the more than 2,000 uncensored reviews made by Izogn Movies customers.
Among the best consumer reviews received is for the English language trilogy "Eagle''s Bride" by Ikechukwu Onyeka, which found a large audience at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in Nigeria in April this year. Reviews applaud the drama as "wonderful" and the "Eagle''s Bride" was also said to be a hit among non-Africans.
"The best Yoruba movie ever" is the standard review for "Iwalewa", about a young Nigerian woman with the same name who has to challenge fate as family relations complicate her promising adolescence. The movie, with English subtitles, has been one of the largest successes at Izogn Movies, Chidum explains.
"Agbefo" is another famed Yoruba language film with English subtitles, and again starring a female hero. The gangster queen Agbefo, a girl thrown out of her family''s house after the death of her father, found such a large audience that director Abbey Lanre recently launched a follow-up movie. Reviewers say they love the "very good plot" and the professional acting of star Funke Akindele.
"Alice My First Lady", in English language, has already become a Nollywood classic. The drama features Alice, a young woman that doesn''t know that she has lived with a curse since she was 11 years old, but suddenly finds out. Nigerian star Patience Ozokwor - who is also known from other great titles such as "Double Mind" and "Royal Palace" - played her role so well that also this movie ended up with a just released follow-up.
Finally, reviewers at Izogn Movies agree that "African Dilemma" by director Vigil Chime is both "cool" and "lovely". The drama goes right into the current migration debate, showing the human dilemma of choosing between an American Green Card or the woman you love. Reviewers are delighted. So is I
Popular Nollywood actor Jim Iyke (l) and Izogn chief Chidum Okwue (r). Jim Iyke is particularly known from the movie "One Dollar".
© Izogn Movies / afrol News
zogn Movies, as the distributor has an exclusive deal with Breakfast Pictures, the company that produced the film, making them the only web service where you can stream their highly profiled movies from.
Chidum is excited by the special relationship Izogn Movies has with Breakfast Pictures, making Izogn''s website the only place their movies are available on the Internet - including future releases from this major producer. "Two more films are just about to be released," Vigil Chime of Breakfast Pictures told afrol News, so fans will not have to wait long for more exclusives streamed through Izogn''s website.
Other exclusives at Izogn include "The Other Side of Life" about a young African immigrant who discovers easy access to wealth in the complex American culture and "Missing in America", about a Nigerian girl going to America to look for her husband that had left her 28 days after their wedding.
Chidum encourages the African Diaspora missing their homeland culture - but also non-Africans wanting to enter the great world of Nollywood - to have some low-price joy at Izogn Movies'' website (www.izognmovies.com). For those already addicted, there is always something new: "At a minimum, we release 16 new movies every Friday," Chidum says. Newcomers, on the other hand, will find a good guide into Nollywood, written by the fans themselves. Or you could look at one of the 350 available movie trailers.
Also, Izogn currently runs great offers for movie lovers. "For only US $20 a month, you can watch as many movies as you want, there is no limit. So, instead of paying US $1.99 per movie, you can pay monthly, and gain unlimited access to our huge selection of movies," Chidum says. Otherwise, one can buy just one film, starting at US $0.99. "When you purchase one movie for streaming, you will have seven days to watch the movie. So within the one-week period, you can watch the movie as many times as you want," he explains.
Izogn Movies is found at www.izognmovies.com. The site accepts both credit cards and e-checks through PayPal and Google Checkout. Even payments via mail or Western Union are accepted. And the best of all: New customers can watch their first movie for free, with no obligation.
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