Did You Know the Nigerian Movie Industry was Named ‘Nollywood’ by a Japanese Man? (IGTV)
Did you know the Nigerian movie industry was named ‘Nollywood’ by a Japanese man? Shocking as it may sound, the Nigerian movie industry wasn’t always known as ‘Nollywood’. In fact, in its early years, it used to be called ‘Theatre’ in some parts of Nigeria. So, wondering how it went from ‘Theatre’ to ‘Nollywood’? The Name Nollywood came into use after a New York Times correspondent, Norimitsu Onishi wrote an exciting piece on the growing Nigerian film industry with its hub in Surulere, Lagos. Onishi was covering West Africa and Lagos at the time when he stumbled on the diamond in the rough. He titled the article 'Step Aside, L.A. and Bombay, for Nollywood' and it was published in the New York Times on September 16, 2002. That article sealed the name Nollywood. Since then, the Nigerian movie industry has done impressively well despite its numerous challenges. In 2004, the industry experienced the rebirth of cinema by the South African owned Nu Metro cinema. Now, it is attracting top foreign investors like Netflix, canal+ among others. CTA: Did you know this before now?
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