Mo Abudu, the esteemed Nigerian filmmaker, has an impressive repertoire of movies to her credit. From the likes of “The Wedding Party” to “Chief Daddy,” The Ebonylife owner has proven that she’s a boss in the movie production and director business.
Recently, she shared her aversion and spit towards the term “Nollywood,” a term commonly used to refer to the local film industry in Nigeria. This insight was provided in a recent interview with Idris Elba, a prominent African-American actor in Hollywood.
Mo Abudu expressed her discomfort with the term’s historical connotations and its relevance in the present era. She shared her reservations on the history of Nollywood and how the name came to be.
“Nollywood” originated when a Canadian journalist visited Nigeria and bestowed this name upon the burgeoning film industry. She believes that the term carries associations with a bygone era when movies were not executed to the highest standards of craftsmanship.
In her view, Nollywood has evolved and so should its name.
Here is Mo Abudu’s undiluted conversation on the topic:
“Do you know the history behind the word? A Canadian journalist came to Nigeria and decided that he was going to give us the name Nollywood, and that was it. It’s stuck since then.
I hate the word Nollywood. The term Nollywood itself is a bad genre of filmmaking. We all know what Nollywood is supposed to represent — it’s the VHS films that were made back in the day.
So, to still be called Nollywood, for me, is a no. We need to use terms like African filmmakers or Nigerian filmmakers.”
