Hollywood set to meet Nollywood in Port Harcourt

“The excitement is everywhere. People just kept talking about meeting Nollywood,” says Soledad Grognett who just returned from a trip to Los Angeles. Grognett and Caterina Bortolussi are both of Omcomm, the production company for the ION touring film festival.

Having closed submissions for entries and opened applications for workshop participation, the duo reveal what the response has been like from producers overseas. According to them, the buzz in Los Angeles is heightened by the lack of content now being experienced in Hollywood.

Grognett says, “Hollywood is running out of stories. They are relying so much on technology and the future,” therefore, local producers who are planning to attend the film festival in Port Harcourt in December, should expect to see experts who are looking out for young minds, fresh talent and stories.

“The response from the content producers [in Los Angeles is] like, ‘wow, this could be huge.’ I mean in terms of Nigeria generating stories because the stories come from the people.”

For Bortolussi who’s just returned from Port Harcourt, ION is coming to Nigeria at the perfect time. “There is the buzz this year, you see a lot of people out shopping, In 2007 I didn’t see so many expats but now they are everywhere,” she says, referring to the new air of peace in the host town for ION 2009, the city once torn by militant activities.

“So it means that there is a lot of confidence and people feel like they want to be there. I think ION is coming at a perfect time in terms of the Port Harcourt situation; development that has taken place to guarantee and restore peace.

Also in the film industry; recently we have been participating in several premieres, for example, Through the Glass, The Figurine, and you see a new army of film makers who are raising the bar when you talk about standard, story - and I think it is happening.”

The ION touring film festival, which attracts the best of the best, is coming to Nigeria and Africa for the first time, having been in Dubai last year.

The Nollywood appeal

The duo speaks about the uniqueness of Nollywood. “Nollywood grew organically, responding to a need, that is why it is so popular, not just in Africa but all over the world; the Carribean, the Diaspora because you can relate to the language, the tradition, the food and so, it’s a special thing,” says Bortolussi.

“I think that Nigeria is not following a model that is outside Nigeria but they are developing their own model.”

Grognett suggests that South Africa is now taking a lesson or two from Nollywood. “South Africa; they are looking at the Nollywood to recreate it in South Africa only because they feel that Nigerians have successfully achieved something that is very important.

What South Africa has not achieved yet is the ability to create a unique market. In South Africa, the market consumes Hollywood movies but in Nigeria the market consumes Nollywood films and that’s very important because they (Nollywood) have developed their own market place and whether it’s like small budget, this story or that, it doesn’t matter.

They’ve created a character, a behaviour in the market place which is very vital and very few countries in the world have achieved [that], so that goes a long way because already that market place is there.”

Judging submissions

The submission for movies for the festival, ended on September 30; screening is in progress. Catherine Ruelle, world cinema expert and artistic director for the festival who is already at work on the submissions, is very impressed with the work she has seen so far.

Bortolussi says Ruelle is particular about African movies and is impressed with what she got.

“The students have a purer approach because this comes before conditioning; before society says this is what you should read, this is what you should write,” is the duo’s assessment of the highest category in the submissions.

They see this as an indication of a generational shift. During the road show, which took place in several Nigerian cities, Bortolussi and Grognett observed that the younger generation are not only concerned about the movies, production, but also about the business of it.

“That is very important,” says Grognett. “You have to know how to turn it into a business, or how else do you want to survive?”

Among the submissions are a good number of narrative features and documentaries; as well as independent productions. The submissions kept flowing in. They admit to being impressed by the zeal, passion and enthusiasm and hard work on display.

Time for work

Entries for the workshop sessions have begun. There will be five workshop sessions and attendees - 15 for each session - will be carefully chosen. But what exactly will they be looking out for? “Passion, commitment,” says Bortolussi.

The sessions are: Screenwriting, Film music composition, Digital cinematography, Lighting and artistic direction; and financing, film packaging and networking. A great point of interest is the session on financing. With problems of poor distribution and piracy, the big question is: will investors, who will also be in attendance, stake their fund in the industry after the festival?

Bortolussi says, “When I look at Nollywood, I see Bollywood years back. It is an organic industry, it came up to meet people’s needs and eventually, these problems will be sorted out.”

She adds that experiences from elsewhere will be used as a model in the workshops, to show how distribution can be done better. With proper distribution network, piracy will be curbed. They also believe that as the content gets better, buyers will drift towards quality.

Challenges and road map to the future

“Being the first time in Nigeria, there was reluctance from the local producers, but it soon gave way, once they understood the essence of the festival,” says Grognett. And while the unrest in Port Harcourt may have once been a source of concern, it is no more, with the peace being experienced there now.

For the producers, this is a good sign, because the ION film festival is aimed at promoting peace through movies.

With the December festival, things can only get better for the evolving, money-spinning Nollywood industry. “We are telling the story, about the people, things that people can identify with… It is a totally different,” says Bortolussi.

And Grognett adds, “It’s only going to grow as the content gets better and the stories start portraying more aspects of the society.”