VIDEOS IN MOTION - fasopo

SECTION IBEYOND THE VIDEO BOOM.Informal circulation, crisis of production and processes of transnationalization in the southernNigerian video industryIntroductionWhen I first went to Nigeria in January 2010, I was prepared to approach an industry at theheight of its development. Most of the literature I had been reading to prepare my research wascelebratory in its tones. Even the articles that expressed criticism about the videos’ contents wereexplicit in acknowledging the economic success of the industry and its unstoppable growth. Thesituation I encountered, however, was profoundly different. Since the first interviews I conducted, Irealized that, since at least a couple of years, the video industry was traversing a deep productioncrisis. I realized how dramatic the situation was when, before my interview with Amaka Igwe, oneof the most famous Nollywood directors, I asked her if she could give me the contact of someone40