The Politics and Aesthetics of the Beginnings of Modern Nigerian Cinema: Uncle OB
The Magic of Nigeria. On the Cinema of Ola Balogun, Filmkollektiv Frankfurt
The review of The Magic of Nigeria. On the Cinema of Ola Balogun, published in 2015 by Filmkollektiv Frankfurt, presents the key moments in the work and life of Ola Balogun, one of the pioneers of African cinema, the beginner of Nigerian contemporary cinema and the “uncle” of modern Nollywood. In the 1980s and 1990s, when postcolonial Africa suffered the consequences of liberation and national wars, Ola Balogun played a key role in the development of Nigerian and African cinema, politically, aesthetically and ideologically. He created new images, a new language, which was absolutely different and foreign to the one imposed by the colonial imperialism of White Europe. In the spirit of Pan-Africanism and pacifism, Balogun created a broad oeuvre of documentary and feature films, establishing a crucial connection between the Yoruba Travelling theatre and cinema, which is now considered to be the key moment in the development of the third biggest film industry today – Nollywood.
The integral version of this article can be found in the printed KINO!