New Nollywood is eclipsing old Nollywood as first wave films are supplanted by second wave films characterized by improved narrative complexity and aesthetic nuance reflected in advanced overall production values. Nollywood is showing signs of far reaching impact as the films mature significantly after two decades of production. The explosion of Nollywood films consumed across Africa and exported to the diaspora as packaged popular culture from Anglophone Africa has accelerated a major turning point in the history of Nollywood as this mode of filmmaking is now considered a transnational practice. Nollywood films are mimetically reproduced in the pan-African context as well as globally. This explosion of popular cinema has been facilitated by digital innovation. As filmmaking technology evolves to be more cost-effective and user-friendly, it erases the barrier to entry for new filmmakers. Likewise, as the digital revolution transmogrifies filmmaking, „Global North‟ cinema cultures of celluloid and the silver screen are in decline (Economist 2013). But even as the old film model is atrophying, democratization of filmmaking technology means that anyone with imagination, aptitude and meagre resources can now make a feature film. No one understands this better than Nigerians who release up to 50 new films each week, more than Bollywood (15 films/week) and Hollywood (10 films/week) (Economist 2006, UNESCO 2009). Nollywood filmmakers have harnessed the tools of the digital revolution to redefine the terms of popular culture production, consumption and distribution. Nollywood films are not only inexpensive to make but also offer good returns on a minimal investment – lessons of enormous significance for filmmakers elsewhere in the „Global South‟, especially in an era where media convergence and global competition implies a trend towards consumers expecting online entertainment to be „Free‟ (Anderson 2009: 137). In this research the filmmakers themselves and their revisionist practices are the voices of vernacular theory in constructing Lessons from New Nollywood: A Theory 6 from the Global South. In the constantly changing landscape of the digital revolution, theory tries to stay abreast of ubiquitous transformation and thus theory: „will be understood here as any attempt to make meaningful generalizations for interpreting or evaluating local experiences and practices (Jenkins 1999: 234).‟ Jenkins intertwines theory and practice as co-dependent concepts that are inextricable. In digital filmmaking as in the domain of digital media, practice precedes theory and theory hypothesises practice.

Since its emergence two decades ago, the Nollywood film industry is fast becoming social, cultural and economic phenomenon among Malawian audiences. Every year, Nollywood actors visit Malawi and some Malawi print media have columns dedicated to Nollywood. According to unofficial statistics carried out by this study, nine out of every ten film enthusiasts in Malawi’s rural areas are Nollywood fanatics, and at least seven out of ten people in the urban areas frequently watch Nollywood films. The films are more popular than both Hollywood and Bollywood films. It could be argued that this popularity is due to the reason that the films are cheaper to buy. Another reason is that the proliferation of free-to-air satellite dishes has made these films easily accessible for the Malawian audience. Notwithstanding these perspectives, this study reveals that unprecedented appeal to Nigerian made films is first and foremost a result of cultural identity. The study, carried out among nine communities across Malawi represented by focus groups, demonstrates that viewers enjoy watching the cultural portrayals manifested in the films by the characters which, they feel, are similar to their own real life and experiences. Taking into account the widespread patronage of Nollywood films, it is safe to assume that these films are making an impact on the local audiences. Based on focus group discussions and analysis of the six case study films by 83 participants in selected areas across Malawi between 2012 and 2013, the study findings indicate that there is a problem of power relations in Malawian society based on gender and iii sex. Men have the upperhand in decision making, access to resources and education opportunities. The study reveals that emergence of the films in Malawi is offering another perspective of gender and social relations: the films’ portrayal of women shows that it is possible for them to have equal opportunities and power relations as their male counterparts. As the case study films were representative of Nollywood films owing to the fact that they represented women/gender and gender relations similary, this study therefore suggests that the films have a potential to bring about social change in Malawian communities. Through the responses of participating audiences that encompassed both men and women, the study reveals that the cinematic portrayals, especially those of female characters, have the potential to change the social perception of women and womanhood. The study uses continentalisation ( as adapted in Omoniyi, 2014b) as a conceptual framework in interpreting and analysing audiences’ responses to female representations in Nollywood films. The study observes that both Nigerian (as depicted by the film characters) and Malawian audiences share common cultural aspects that are predominantly African. The study regards Nollywood as a vehicle of intra-continental cultural flow. For this reason, the study makes an attempt to explore the extent to which Nollywood could be effective in facilitating gender notions that are identical across African societies. The study claims that despite variations in certain elements, culturally, there are more commonalities than differences among Africans. Malawian audiences and in iv particular, female audiences could get an inspiration from the portrayals that would advance their cause in society. Arguably, the portrayals of militancy and some heroism in some female characters could go a long way to inspire the female audiences and instill confidence in them. Thus, exposure to the films for a long period could improve Malawians’ perception of women or womanhood. This thesis therefore argues that Nollywood is a vehicle for the flow of these engendered notions of power relations across the continent. Thus, these engendered notions should be identified as African approaches to gender, and with their emphasis on balanced power relations between male and female members of communities, they have the ability to/ they have a potential to deconstruct social gendered female stereotypes. This study therefore claims that Nollywood films in general offer positive, empowering representation of African women. Nollywood studies are a rather young research field, and the representation of women in those films has been poorly-studied area so far, with gender relations being largely ignored by scholars. The fact that this is the first study done on the reception of Nollywood in Malawi makes it arguably a unique and valuable contribution to knowledge.

This paper examines the themes in Nigerian cinema, popularly referred to as Nollywood, and their evolution over time. This analysis will give indigenous and colonial context to the origins of filmmaking in Nigeria and illustrate how the societal events impacting the country influenced the subject matter being explored. Through research from scholarly journals, review of specific films, and input from filmmakers in the industry, we will gain an understanding of Nollywood cinema and the stories which Nigerian filmmakers decide to share.

Nollywoods distribution is a complex phenomenon that is ever changing. With a competing market, the industry needs to constantly keep up with innovative distribution methods. As the VCD/DVD market fades away, newer distribution platforms rise. In this thesis we are going to analyze and discuss Nollywood's opportunities of growth. With empirical material from previous research and direct contact with professionals in the industry through interviews, we can establish how Nollywood is going to flourish.

Previous research shows that perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs are cultivated via media exposure. A content analysis of stereotypical traits in five Nollywood movies in a five-year span examines the prevalent portrayals of women in the Nigerian movie industry – Nollywood, and the effect of these portrayals on reinforcement of stereotypical norms and perpetuation of gender disparity. Cultivation and Objectification theories were the theoretical frameworks for this study. Findings revealed no significant change in the stereotypical portrayals of women in the past five years. From the movies analyzed, Nollywood movies appear to remain persistent in typically depicting women as unambitious domestic servants. Applying Fiske’s stereotype content model, this study found that women are typically depicted as warm and incompetent, but cold and competent when they compete for same resources as the dominant group. With such portrayals in Nollywood movies, women are further subdued and beliefs that normalize these norms are cultivated.

The Nigerian entertainment industry called Nollywood has for several years been one of the top audiovisual producers worldwide in regards to the volume of media produced. However, its market is to a large extent isolated from the dominant media flows, which has inspired interest for a detailed study of its role in the global cultural scene. The thesis is a theoretical treatise about the history and the present situation of Nollywood, which the author discusses in the context of the two seemingly oppositional paradigms of the globalization discourse: cultural imperialism and cultural globalization. To gather the most up-to-date and the most complex information, the thesis uses theoretical methods, such as the analysis, synthesis and comparison of the articles found in science journals and literature. The text is comprised of three main parts. After a brief introduction into the current situation in Nigeria and the historical development of its audiovisual media, the second chapter discusses the birth of Nollywood for the first time in the Czech academia, as well as its current production and distribution principles. In this part of the thesis, the focus is given to the description of the extent of Nollywood's influence in the world, including the Czech Republic, talking both about the audience size...

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