VIDEOS IN MOTION - fasopo

economic and social reality from which the industry itself has emerged. By doing this, it inevitablyopposes the transformations that this same reality might be in the process of achieving. Aperspective of this kind thus hides the fluidity and complexity of the reality observed, modelling itas in a mirror-like reflection, along the shape of Eurocentric ideas of the African reality.Discursive motion and the video industry’s reactionsAnalyzing the interactions between Bollywood and the international audience, Kaushik Bhaumikwrites that “the greatest influence that 'Bollywood' in world cinema has had, is on Bombay cinemaitself. Entry into the club of world cinema has reconfigured the economic framework of theindustry” (2006: 197). This interpretation can be applied also to the Nollywood case. The entry ofNollywood into the global circuit of film festivals and its success with diasporic audiences aroundthe world has had an important effect in pushing part of the industry toward new economic andmarketing strategies. Thus the impact of the representation of Nollywood on the development ofNollywood itself has become a major factor to consider when analyzing the transformations that theindustry has undertaken in recent years. This impact can be schematized in at least two majortendencies, one concerning the Nollywood practitioners based in Nigeria and another oneconcerning Nigerian artists in the diaspora.As I mentioned previously, the international representation of Nollywood has provokednumerous reactions amongst industry’s practitioners in Nigeria. For directors, actors and producersthat are considered and consider themselves as movie stars, it was hard to accept being treated asmere curiosities in the global cinema arena. As Kunle Afolayan has underlined, giving a voice to awidespread sentiment amongst industry’s practitioners,if they are celebrating the fact that Nigeria has managed to find its space in the historyof cinema creating its own way of doing it, then it's cool! But if they are trying to saythat this is the best thing that could happen for a cinema industry in Africa, then I thinkthey are wrong (Afolayan 2010).In relation to this issue, many directors and producers have started, over the past few years, to beparticularly concerned about the representation of their work in the international arena. Since2004/2005 a growing number of Nigerian newspaper articles started investigating the wayNollywood was represented in international film festivals. In most cases the reports were bitterly133