Paper long abstract:

In light of the video production explosion in Anglophone West Africa, prominently in Nigeria, there has been increased attention paid by western media to an industry that has rapidly developed in recent years. Although some scholars and local government officials may debate the viability of a Nigerian video-film industry, few can ignore its impact in Nigeria, neighbouring African countries and African migrant communities abroad.

With work such as that of Jonathan Haynes and Onookome Okome, academic focus is slowly shifting away from the predominance of Francophone and Lusophone African cinema as the sole voice of Africa and greater scholarship is being produced in the area of video-films from Anglophone countries. However, the ongoing comparison between the overtly political style of Francophone and Lusophone films grounded in a third cinema framework remains privileged over that of popular Nigerian video-films. Nigerian productions are often dismissed by film scholars, for a pre-occupation with themes of sorcery and the occult as oppose to addressing socioeconomic and political issues facing post-independence African nations, as this is more characteristic of Francophone and Lusophone African cinema.

The intention of this paper is to add to the debate on African video-films, with textual analysis of three productions by Nigerian director Tunde Kelani: Saworoide (1999), Thunderbolt (2001) and Agogo Eewo (2002). Within this discussion, I will argue how representing indigenous African spirituality, a dramatic technique in Nigeria rooted in the Yoruba travelling theatre and which remains prevalent in local video production, is employed by Kelani to examine contemporary issues such as shifting national and cultural identities, debilitating government corruption and increasing fear of HIV-AIDS. Additionally, I will explore the international reception and political ramifications of Kelani's productions including controversy over state censorship of his work. Using Nigeria as a case study, this examination will seek to further the debate on African video-films beyond the thematic context of the supernatural versus the political. Instead, this discussion will aid in understanding questions facing African communities and the cinematic representations that have captivated the imagination of audiences in Africa and abroad.