African Cinema Realism: Seeing Through the Lens of Trauma

In traditional, largely Western-oriented film studies, Nigeria’s Nollywood is the African cinema wonder that still lacks enough professionalism to depict great levels of realism in its films.
Having become one of the few post-colonial African cinemas to have gained global status and acclaim, Nollywood is unique in this category in that its success is attributable neither to its national government nor foreign, colonial influences; rather, it is self-generated. Nollywood serves, therefore, as an ideal case-study for understanding Africa’s uniquely formed sense of cinema realism, and how this realism has its roots in the lurking trauma of colonization. Perhaps, this begins to account for its unique kind of realism, and why it is mis-understood in traditional film studies.

African Cinema Realism: Seeing Through the Lens of Trauma Presentation