By Rita Okoye
For decades, inadequate funding has slowed Nollywood’s growth, affecting film quality and limiting profitability.
More money allows for better equipment, special effects, and locations, elevating production quality and creating films that can compete with films produced by Hollywood.
For its new movie, Mistakenly Yours, Laju Iren Films, an independent filmmaking company, chose the road not taken, the unbeaten path: a paid virtual cinema that allows users from around the world to access the film for a stipulated season.
With sales amounting to more than N15,000,000 so far,, the film directed by Biodun Stephen, which is set to be released this Easter, is Nollywood’s biggest recorded sale for an unreleased film on an out-of-the-box distribution platform.
The Executive Producer, Laju Iren, noted that a film of that magnitude couldn’t have been produced without the support of one of the key investors, 56 Capital.
‘Without doubt, it is Nollywood’s time,’ said Kelvin Obasuyi, an Oxford alumnus and Managing Partner at 56 Capital.
He added: ‘’Storytelling is a superpower that Africans have possessed for generations. Nigerians, especially, have shown over the years that we can rival anyone across the globe when it comes to our stories. We truly believe that the lack of funding, especially for up-and-coming filmmakers, is the difference between where Nollywood is right now and where she ought to be.”