In 1992, a single Igbo-language film called Living in Bondage was distributed through a network built for pirated foreign tapes — and it changed everything.
This video draws on Jonathan Haynes’ Nollywood: The Creation of Nigerian Film Genres to tell the real origin story: how the collapse of formal Nigerian cinema and television in the early 1990s, combined with military rule and economic crisis, pushed creative professionals toward cheap video technology and street distribution. We examine the “money ritual” films that launched the industry — why they resonated so deeply, what they were actually saying about wealth, corruption, and tradition — and how a grassroots movement with no institutional backing reclaimed the African screen for African storytellers.
#Nollywood #NigerianHistory #AfricanCinema #LivingInBondage #FilmHistory #AfricanHistory #CulturalHistory #Nigeria #WorldHistory #HiddenHistory
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