Nollywood-Inspired Filmmaking in Europe: A Swiss Example

Abstract

This work is a performance ethnographic study designed to understand how African migrants in Europe process their reality through the audio-visual medium of film. It looks at how first-generation Nigerian and African migrants resident in Switzerland have transported the low-budget fast-paced lean-script production format of Nollywood to creating their narratives. This study is a firsthand embedded observation of the film production culture and processes among African Diaspora, who inhabit, straddle and transcend both local and global spaces, bodies, cultures and narratives. The chapter explores how Nigeria’s video film industry has inspired filmmaking in Europe and vice versa. It highlights the commonalities and the differences between local and global streams in Nollywood and Nollywood-inspired filmmaking.