Kannywood in 2015: The good, the bad, and the Ugly

The Hausa film industry, Kannywood, recorded successes and also witnessed some hard times in 2015.

Below are major events (the good, the bad, the ugly and the sorrowful) that transpired in 2015 in the Kannywood industry.

The Good

The good things that happened in the Kannywood industry in 2015 include the technical advancement of production techniques, introduction of new equipment in film making and improvement of movie story lines.

Movies like Gwaska, Hindu, Halacci, Indon Kauye, Garejin Hassan, Sa-In-Sa, So, Salma and Rumfar Shehu personify some of these improvements.

Another good news in the industry was the introduction for the first time of the Kannywood category in the African Movie Awards in London were Ali Nuhu, Adam Zango and Rahama Sadau all won awards in the 2015 event.

The return of movies to the cinema was also a big relief from piracy for movie producers.

Falalu Dorayi, a film producer, said, “There is no better way to deal with piracy than returning to the cinemas.

“Once we release a movie we allow it for some time in the cinemas just like it is done worldwide, then release it to the market. That will lessen the huge loss we do experience.”

Another highlight in 2015 for Kannywood was the emergence of Umma Shehu.

While many actors and actresses won awards in their 20th or 30th movie appearances, Umma Shehu’s first appearance in the movie Sa-In-Sa won her the 2015 City People Best new actress award in the Kannywood Category.

She was celebrated as one who broke a record in the industry.

“Umma Shehu has made the Industry proud. She was relatively new and in her first big budget film, Sa-In-Sa, she acted well and even won herself an award in Lagos. She actually was a good news for the industry in 2015,” Hassana Dalhat, a movie promoter, said.

The Bad

One recurring issue that has continued to affect Kannywood negatively is piracy of movies.

Movie producers lose millions of naira to pirates every year despite the efforts of regulatory agencies.

According to Dorayi, Kannywood movie producers considered suspending release of new movies in 2015 due to the effect of piracy..

Another producer, Wash Hong, blamed marketers for the piracy problem.

“While some marketers encourage piracy, some directly participate in it,” he said. “They will collect copies of your movies for sale and subsequently they will print many more and sell at your expense.”

“Whenever the filmmaker returns to collect his payment they would keep telling him that his film is not selling while it is all over the market and in homes.

“As a film maker, I have reported many cases to the police and we have made some arrests especially on films I produce,” he said.

Apart from piracy, another problem Kannywood had in 2015 is the poor pay of production crew members

The ugly

The ugliest event that happened in the industry in 2015 was the altercation between Adam Zango and Rahama Sadau which virtually split the industry into two camps: the Ali Nuhu Camp and the Adam Zango faction.

In a post on her Instagram page, Rahama Sadau an actress, alleged that Adam Zango offered her a role in a new movie on the condition that she dated him.

She said she lost the role after rejecting his advances.

However, Adam Zango denied ever offering Rahama Sadau a role in exchange for a relationship.

“I only invited her to come and act alongside me in a movie I’m producing. I heard from a colleague how terrible she can be on location. She will never listen, not to even her director and she feels very haughty. And that is why I substituted her for another actress,” he said.

The intervention of elders in the industry ensured the resolution of the crisis which could have degenerated considering the prominent parties involved.