African Film Festival in Boston

From February 1-29th the Museum of Fine Arts Boston will be hosting its 8th annual Boston African Film Festival. The festival will showcase 13 new releases from African Cinema and highlights from the the New York African Film Festival. Many genres of film will be displayed, including documentaries, dramas and short films. The thirteen films premiering in Boston are from several African nations like Zimbabwe and Cameroon.

Kicking off the film festival tomorrow is the screening of Franco Sacchi's "This is Nollywood." The film lets viewers in on Nigeria's booming film industry and how it'll effect the African culture and economy. Sacchi's film is gaining international momentum and has already picked up a few accolades. Most Nollywood films are done on a shoestring budget of $10,000 and shot in under 10 days. Here's the trailer from "This is Nollywood."

Leading Ladies & Gents of African Cinema Honored

Actors, Nadia Buari and Van Vicker

Brooklyn, New York was the epicenter of African glamour and showbiz as the superstars of African cinema descended on the city for the 10th Annual Five Continents Awards. The event was in honor of Nollywood and Ghollywood for raising the bar for the African film industry which has become very prosperous.

Nollywood is Nigeria's booming film industry and is the world's third largest producer of feature films. Ghollywood is Ghana's very popular film industry.

Ghana’s finest, co-stars, Van Vicker and Nadia Buari, received awards for their roles in “Beyonce, The President’s Daughter” series. Nollywood stars also represented: Chinedu Ikedieze, Osita Iheme, Patience Ozorkwo, Mike Ozuronye, Jim Iyke, as well as Omotola Jalade.

The Consul General of Ghana, His Excellency Obeng Gyan Busia, was one of the dignitaries who graced the occasion in addition to the Nollywood/Ghollywood fans who were overjoyed to see their actors.


The international film industry is starting to take notice of the African cinema and the talent it has to offer. Nollywood has generated so much buzz, it definitely one to watch in 2008. As global popularity grows, many speculators of African cinema acknowledge that the time has come for fresh story lines, depth and glamour.

Society Noir will write future posts detailing the growing Nollywood and Ghollywood industries.