Nigerian film star Genevieve Nnaji has discussed her time in Hollywood following the global success of her 2018 movie, “Lionheart.”
Even though “Lionheart” was a major hit, selling to Netflix for a reported $3.8 million, Nnaji said Hollywood didn’t offer her the opportunities she expected.
At a Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) event, a program focused on empowering Africa’s creative industries by Afreximbank, Genevieve Nnaji spoke about the difference between her hopes for Hollywood and the reality she found.
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She said;
“For the first time, I realised I was a commodity. I thought, you know, given what I had done with Lionheart, and all of that, I was going to have an opportunity to do more. Getting there and having the kind of support, that obviously CANEX is bringing on board, but I thought I could find it in Hollywood. That was not quite the case.”
“They wanted what I had but for their benefit. It was all about their story. It was all about how, even if it was our story, I could make it more authentic to their own understanding of whatever Africa is because they did have a lot of literature in their archives.”
“But I am Nollywood. I could have gone to Hollywood a long time if I wanted to. But I had a dream to build an industry in Nigeria that could rival it. That’s because I’ve always believed in that. I have always believed that we were capable of actually owning an industry like that, that told our story for our people. I wanted that. I respect what Hollywood is doing. I respect what Bollywood is doing and I felt like Nollywood had an equal chance at it.”
See the video below
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