Nigerian-British actor, John Boyega has called for transformative teamwork to raise Nollywood’s standards.
Speaking at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) panel session on Monday, Boyega highlighted Nollywood’s untapped potential, stressing the need for international partnerships, workshops, and training to elevate Nigeria’s film industry to new heights.
Boyega underscored the need to elevate Nollywood’s filmmaking quality to global standards, urging directors and producers to embrace change, invest in research, and welcome constructive criticism.
Singer, Rema expresses desire to collaborate with Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion
The actor emphasized the importance of elevating Nollywood’s filmmaking quality to meet global standards, urging directors and producers to stay open to innovation, thorough research, and constructive feedback.
He said,
“Unfortunately, the filmmaking is not at the level it needs to be. Everybody has to be a student and collaborate at this point, we need to collaborate. To collaborate, both international and Nigerian filmmakers need to be humble.
We also need to raise the standards. I want to see a Nigerian franchise that can make a billion naira at the global box.
“I want us to be the main place at the mainstream but we do need to improve the quality of filmmaking here.
“This then leads to opportunities like workshops that provide opportunities for people to learn. We also need government’s support. The most important thing now is we need to change our mind. We need to raise the standards.
“The new standard should be if I enjoy Avengers and Marvel, why not in Nigeria? Why can’t we have those kinds of movies here? We saw the way Black Panther went down in the global box.
“How much money they made imitating you but why can’t we do that for ourselves? I think it means getting off our high horses and everyone becoming a student.
Also, Nollywood directors and producers have to open up their minds to a structural change. We need a structural change.
“If you think you have put a film together and you haven’t done research for the dialogue to be authentic, the extracurricular research outside of the role to see how the character will talk and walk.
“Trust me, you are not there yet and it is important for someone to tell you at this level that you are not there yet because how are you going to reach your full potential?
“… So we need to think about how we can collaborate to create change.”
Read Also: VIDEO: Portable publicly begs Wizkid to feature on his songs