Nollywood actress, Rita Dominic, has got people talking with her recent post on Instagram where she lamented the lacklustre Nollywood films that make it to the cinemas.
The actress has also schooled filmmakers on the importance of producing cinema-worthy projects.
The 42-year-old movie star also advised filmmakers to ensure that the quality of their work matches the hype.
At first, many felt this was a general statement, but discerning folks noticed that she did not promote her colleague, Lilian Afegbai’s
latest film, Bound. Ironically, Rita played a lead role in the movie.
But critics have said that the film was not cinema-worthy and that may be the reason why Rita failed to show up at the private screening.
But some of her colleagues appear to agree with her stance and have also shared their opinions on the subject matter.
A Nollywood filmmaker, Lancelot Imasuen, corroborated Rita’s statement.
According to him, no Nollywood movie has truly made its returns after it was taken to the cinema in spite of the hype.
He said, ”In our closet we also talk about it that the cinemas should also be mindful of what they take from Nollywood because we are having a problem. Everybody is talking about Black Panther.
Even Atiku went to watch Black Panther but I have asked people when they come out of the cinemas, if they understand the foreign film they went to watch? Many people are just following trend. A lot of people do not understand the movie; they just went to watch because their friend(s) went to watch.”
Meanwhile Rita is not the first Nollywood stakeholder that has expressed concern about how some Nigerian films do not match the hype.
Earlier this year, Nigerian filmmaker, Uduak Isong, shared her views on the recent trend of box office figures of movies being shared with the public.
According to her, some of these figures can be misleading because often times the actual profit and budget is shrouded in
secrecy.
