Article of the journal  非洲语言文化研究   (African Languages and Culture Studies)
 

Kannywood: Challenges and Survival in the Time of Pandemic

Muhammad Muhsin Ibrahim

Like several countries worldwide, Nigeria has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The virus has crippled several businesses and forced many to close shop. As a people-centred business, the entertainment industry is among the worst affected sectors globally. It is much more so in developing countries such as Nigeria. Before the pandemic, the northern Nigerian film industry, aka Kannywood, was already struggling with piracy problems, scarcity of professionals, state-supported hegemonic religious and cultural institutions, and a lack of investors, among other bedevilling issues. Thus, Covid-19 only exacerbated the situation.

However, courtesy of YouTube and a few, albeit new, video-on-demand (VOD) platforms, some Kannywood filmmakers found a niche to sell, show their films and keep their heads above water. Nonetheless, these life-saving platforms are not without their several, even severe, challenges.

This paper explores some of these challenges and attempts to proffer solutions.

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