Nigerian film cultures and the emerging trend in digital era

Abstract

Like other established institutions, organizations or academic disciplines, the film industry has its unique culture that is so peculiar to its operations locally or globally. While culture can be seen through the use of language, social values, religion, art and other approaches, in recent times, film has become a potent medium through which culture can be learned and disseminated. From the colonial era to the emerging digital era in Nollywood, there are operational cultures/traditions, ethics or principles that influence the operation of the industry from the production process (shooting, editing & premiere) to distribution, exhibition and consumption (audience patronage) stage. This paper examines the Nigeria film cultures from two perspectives: the pre/post Nollywood film production era, and the digital technology era, looking critically at how these impact production in Nigerian film industry. Relying primarily on literary evidence, the paper attempts to lay bare the ethical premise of the Nollywood film culture and how such is influencing the industry while foregrounding the intimacy that exists between film culture and institutional theory.