Filmmaker tells Nollywood to refresh film production

A Nigerian filmmaker, Efe Mike, on Wednesday, urged filmmakers and marketers in the country to revitalise film production by adopting new techniques.

Mike in Lagos said that African countries, including Nollywood, should learn from other countries, which had made their marks in filmmaking.

“It has become a thing of the past that local filmmakers or marketers in any particular African film industry including Nollywood, could make it on their own.

“Those in the diaspora are as relevant to those in the local African countries just as the local countries are to those in the diaspora.

“The market is now global and would take all the output. There is no need for infighting or division borne out of the fear that one group would stifle the other.

“There is the need to work together and grow or face the danger of dwindling fortunes or the consequences of isolated irrelevancy,’’ he said.

Mike, who is aspiring to redefine filmmaking, also said that Nollywood needed to improve on its film content in order to promote growth.

“If we are producing so many films and the industry has featured on the CNN, then there must be something we are doing right or so we think.

“We need to go back to the drawing board and learn how to run the movie business and industry.

“I think we are going through a phase, whether it is necessary for growth, I do not know but I think it is a phase and it will pass.

“Again, we know better as a country, we watch films and are overwhelmed with high-quality materials that are produced in America and Europe.

“Why can’t we replicate the same level of quality in our production, it is not because we cannot, but we have chosen not to and this is because change is hard,’’ he said.

According to him, things can only improve on a global scale when we turn things around and the result is the massive partnership between artistes from America and Africa.

“It may take a little while because music production is slightly different from filmmaking but we will get there,’’ he added.

In February 2014, Mike wrote and directed a movie entitled: “Daddy’s Boy’’.