Steve Ayorinde’s landmark book gives ‘A Bystander’s Verdict’ on new Nigerian cinema
The celebration of the landmark achievements and outstanding practitioners in the Nigerian film industry is the subject of a new book announced in Lagos on Friday, February 10, 2023.
The book, titled ’30: Three Decades Of The New Nigerian Cinema – A Bystander’s Verdict’, is authored by Steve Ayorinde, a celebrated journalist, film critic and former Commissioner for Tourism Arts & Culture in Lagos State.
Sold globally by Amazon in print (hardcopy and paperback) and on kindle, the book is also available on Smashwords and Lulu for global audiences and on Okadabooks in Nigeria.
Through the book, Ayorinde chronicles 30 each of those that the author considers outstanding among directors, actors, actresses and feature films released in Nigeria since 1992, a year after he started his journalism career. He told Neusroom that the whole point of writing the book is to provide succinctly and accurate information about films and cineastes; and to document them for posterity.
“This book simply seeks to celebrate and document some of the outstanding films, directors, actors and landmark events, which have in the past 30 years or thereabout, defined the industry we now celebrate today; without forgetting other legendary names that played their parts but who are no more on planet earth,” Ayorinde said.
The book lays out a rich spread of some of the films that redefined the new Nigerian cinema, from classic oldies like Asewo to re Mecca and Living in Bondage, both in 1992, to Ti Oluwa Nile, Glamour Girls, Mortal Inheritance and Igodo; up to Ije, October 1, Sadauki, Half of a Yellow Sun and the more recent King of Boys, The Milkmaid and Amina.
Gathering credible information for the book from an era where documentation and archiving were not in digital format was quite challenging, and Ayorinde told Neusroom that the most difficult aspect was getting pictures of some of the ‘classic’ Nollywood films whose era predated the social media.
“Asewo to re Mecca is an example. No single picture on the net. Neither the director nor the producers could lay their hands on pictures or posters. Similar situation with King of my Country, which was shot in London in 1997. It took eons before the director could fish out a cover jacket for the film,” he said.
Ayorinde added that to an extent, authentic information about many of the practitioners featured in the book was a challenge.
“You couldn’t rely on Wikipedia and the Internet alone. You had to speak with them directly. Sometimes they couldn’t even remember exact years when certain things were done,” he told Neusroom.
In his Foreword to the book, respected scholar and one of the first international academics to spread the gospel of Nollywood globally, Prof. Jonathan Haynes said Ayorinde’s journalistic work in the early and mid-1990s “were the first I found that gave some kind of handle on what this thing (Nollywood phenomenon) was and who the people were who were creating it.”
According to Prof. Haynes, in one way or another, the film industry has always been in his (Ayorinde) bailiwick. “You don’t see a masquerade standing in one place, as the old saying has it. Ayorinde has moved round but he’s never lost sight of the movies; and the fruits of decades of steady observation and judgement are here in this new book, which I’m pleased to be able to help welcome into the world.”
In her “Encore” (Last Word) submission in the book, the late President of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) and founder of African Movies Academy Awards (AMAA), Peace Anyiam-Osigwe said the book is a necessary tool to goad the industry towards the right path for the next 30 years.
“The Nollywood Industry needs to find its way back to its purest beginning, where collaboration drove the energy in the room. As the industry grew, unfortunately so did its extreme need to be an Industry filled with envy and competitive spirit.
“I believe that in the next 30 years, Nollywood would have built proper film studios which would help our quality control. For us to remain relevant as the content kings, I would love to see Nollywood look deeper inside, celebrating quality, listening and responding to criticism and pushing towards quality.”
