At the Series Mania Festival, 30 , including producers, distributors, broadcasters, and other industry professionals, gathered in Lille, France, to foster new partnerships and discover emerging talent. Among these delegates were ten Nigerian representatives:Mimdoo Bartel, Chioma Ude, Zulumoke Oyioba, Daniel Olaoluwa, Enyi Omeruah, Blessing Uzzi, Moses Babatope, Onome Ifeanyi, Chioma Onyenwe, and.
In our exclusive Series Mania Interviews, we spoke with several Nigerian delegates to explore the state of Nollywood on the global stage, the perception of Nollywood worldwide, the cultural exportation of Nigerian cinema,andNollywood’s relationship with Artificial Intelligence, among other related topics.
Our second conversation is with Blessing Uzzi, a Nigerian filmmaker, producer, and director renowned for her dedication to authentic storytelling. She is the founder of Bluhouse Studios and has directed films such as “Agwaetiti Obiuto” and “Freedom Way,” both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the Red Sea Film Festival, and the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), winning the Special Jury Prize.
Hello Blessing. How has been your experience at the Series Mania?
It's been nice, I've been catching up with old friends because I was here last year. I've been catching up with old colleagues andbusiness friends, having conversations about projects,all the ones in progress and the ones we are yet to do. Essentially, it's been a great experience.
Great! Let's quickly talk about cultural exportation. Do you think that Nollywood is making an adequate effortto export our culture and if festivals like this are aiding us in this regard?
Yes, festivals like this are definitely helping us, and yes, Nollywood is doing its best to export our own content. Mind you, Nollywood is an industrythat is mostly funded by individualswithout any government support. I would definitely give credit to the factthat we are genuinely doing our best. Because it's funded by people, it's going to take longer than normalto get our content exported.Because, most times, you need the help of the government and all the people who make these things happen. We are here today because the French Embassydecided to put Nigerian delegates in this place. Those are the sort of things that the Nigerian government needs to do.Looking at the fact that we are doing these things on our own, yes, we are doing our best. Will it take time? I definitely think so. Alot of time, actually. So we have to be patient.
Do you think Nollywood is maintaining that quality enough to for it to be exported?
It's here and there. Yes and no. Some filmmakers are [maintaining that quality]; some are not. Generally, in every industry, you won't have everybody doing the same thing. Some care enough about the quality to help the industry. Some don't, and they are doing what they need to do. Do I think, generally, we need to improve our quality of work? Yes,all of us need to. And we need to also incorporate our culture a little more.Be proud of it and show it as much as you can. I think there is work to be done, but I also think there's work happening already.
Speaking of quality and exporting culture, there are a lot of conversations around what AI can do and not do. Do you think it's going to shape the future of Nollywood?
To be honest, as Blessing Uzzi, no.And I think my reason is simple.You should count one before you count two. Nollywood is still trying to get drama right. We are still trying to get our everyday stories right.We are still trying to tell the real authentic Nigerian stories right.I don't know if AI is the next thing that I need to start cracking my head about.Let's get the basics done well, and then we'll grow. So you count one, then you count two.That's what I think.And not to say some people can't explore that. If you're starting out as a filmmaker and you want to explore thatas your way of telling stories,please, by all means, the person should go ahead. But as an industry, do I think that all of us should focus on AI? Not really. Let's get the basics right. Let's count one, then we count two.
As a film professional, do you think Nollywood is leading conversations around representation, both in front and behind the camera?
Funnily enough, Nollywood is not dominated by male producers.It's certainly dominated by female producers.The top three producers in Nollywood, I'm sure it will be two women, probably one guy. It's a very female-led industry.As far as producing is concerned,na women get Nollywood. Nobody can argue it.Maybe there was an era when men used to lead it,but currently, as of today,Nollywood is led by women.
We've moved across different eras–from cinema to streaming and others–where do you see Nollywood in the next 5 to 10 years?
I think there will be growth. Even if there'd any challenge, I don't think 5 years is the year.I would say 10 becauseI generally believe good things take time. But5 years feels very close in my head.And not to say that great things can't happen in 5 years (great things can even happen in a year),but I would like to give myselfor give the industry such a long time.But do I think that there are things that will change? Yeah. I think we'll have better stories. We'd have learned more. And most importantly,I think we'll probably have a headway with distribution.Maybe this is a prophecy.
Speaking of distribution, there are fluctuations around streaming platforms in Nigeria. Now, everybody is somewhat moving to YouTube. How do you see that in the future for Nollywood in this regard?
I think this YouTube thing isnormal Nigerian behaviour. And it's not a bad thing per se.But Nigerians generally,when it feels like one door is blocked, everybody just faces the one they think is poppingin the moment, as opposed to sitting down and asking questions: Why are we here? How did we get here?And what can we do to not be in this situation again? We look for a quick fix instead.
So now, in most producers' minds, the quick fix is YouTube. And it's very annoying.If I used to be a YouTube producer,I think I would be very offended thatI have been on this platform for a long time. We've been thriving. All of a sudden, your streaming is not working for you people again.And you think you are coming to YouTubeto make YouTube something. YouTube has always been something. Some producers havealways thrived there. They've known that business model for years.Whether Netflix or HBO came,they were on YouTube.Those are the people I consider real producers, real creators,real filmmakers.
Now, the new people are coming in–not to say it's a bad thing because obviously, people will pivotwhen things don't go as planned–but I also think that the people who we need to remove cap for arethose ones who were therewhen people thought they were less than the streamers,the producers who worked with the streamers,when everybody looked down on them.
Do I think it's a sustainable thing,especially for the new ones?No.Do I think that for the old people there,it will always be sustainable for them? Yes.For the new ones, if your motive or incentiveis because Netflix or whoever is not around, if they showed up today,you're going to abandon YouTubeand go back to them.Let's not lie to ourselves.It's not a strategy for you.It's not your distribution plan.You're just going there nowbecause it looks like this is the option you have.So the people that have been there will always be there. So, for me, that's not a future plan. It's an in-the-moment thing for the new peoplewho are joining it. But it's a plan for the people who have been therefor the longest time.
So let's say all the streaming platforms, including YouTube, pack and say, “We're going.” What do we do?
Cinema. I know the streamers' decisions hurt most filmmakers, and I can understand it to an extent because people have already built their business and future film plans around streamers. But if you can take that away for a second and look into the future, you realise it's a good decision.
Like I said, it hurts all of us. It's killing everybody. But do I think it's a bad decision? To be honest, I don't think so. Because I think it's here to shake us and make us think again—think about our approach to the business of filmmaking. No industry survives just on making films and selling them to the streamers all over the world. The cinema has to be alive.
Some films should be seen on the big screen. Films were meant to be seen there, right? After the cinema, you can then go to your streamers and give them the film. Hopefully, they buy it or whatever.
But I think that Netflix, Amazon, and all of these companies' decisions are also going to make us go back to the drawing board, where we begin to ask ourselves: Why are we making this film before we make it? As opposed to, “Oh, Nollywood is about volume, volume, volume.” Volume becomes tiring. Quantity over quality can't sustain an industry. It's great that we have it, but we need to make quality stuff. And with these platforms not being constantly here, it will make everybody think before making a film. You have to think, How am I going to sell this? You're going to the cinema, you're exploring other options, and that makes it harder. But what this shift is going to do is save the content that comes out, which I think is a good thing in the long run. And it will also help us build our cinema culture.
Most filmmakers complain a lot about funding. Do you think funding is the major challenge hindering Nollywood's progress?
Does a filmmaker need funding to make great films? Yes. Is funding the only thing a filmmaker needs to make a good, quality film? No.
There's a place for talent, and there's a place for skill. You could give someone a Sony A7III, and they'll make something that looks good. And you could give somebody an ARRI, and they might shoot nonsense. ARRI is bigger than the Sony A7III, but in the hands of someone who knows how to use it, the results will speak for themselves.
It's the same with filmmaking. You can give someone a small budget, but when you see talent, you see talent. You don't necessarily need a lot of money to write a good script, no matter how people argue it. Yes, I can pay a big writer abroad to write something greater than I've ever imagined. But if you're writing about Nigeria, and you live in Nigeria, grew up in Nigeria, I don’t need someone in the U.S. to do that for me. If I understand storytelling, the structure of writing, and how to tell a story that connects with an audience and makes people feel something, I don’t need $10 million to do that.
___
Séries Mania Forum is the industry arm of the Séries Mania festival, which has established itself as the premier international television series event. The Forum provides a platform for producers, distributors, broadcasters and other industry professionals to develop new partnerships and discover emerging talent.
