It’s a New Yair!

Happy New Year! Thank God for bringing us all into 2021. 2020 couldn’t end fast enough. This is your first AIRTIME Roaming column of 2021! So, it’s appropriate to wish you Happy New Yair (Yair = year & air). As happens with individuals, the beginning of the year is usually when people make all kinds of resolutions, never mind that these resolutions may dissolve before mid-January. However, instead of resolutions, I prefer to share my expectations (air-xpectations) from the airwaves. These are things I hope will improve (or sustained) on TV, Radio and in the film industry, Nollywood. Throw in a few expectations from celebrities and the government (definitely not the 100% adjusted electricity hike from the FG). Then of course, you the reader can air your own airxpectations. And why not? We all want to have a better time on-air after all, yes? So, what do you want to see and hear on the airwaves? Although if the past year taught us anything, it is that it’s better to be prepared for any eventuality. Or at least be flexible enough. However, if there’s one thing I want to see is Nollywood and even our music industry begin to take the seasonal market more seriously.

Why Is Nollywood Missing Out on the Christmas Market?

Another way to phrase this question would be: Why is Nollywood ignoring the seasonal markets? Seasons come; seasons go but the one constant is that they are predictable. You can count on them to happen with regularity and certainty. In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were specific things that could not be cancelled or rescheduled. Everyone knows Christmas comes every year, as does Easter, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and other yearly events that different people celebrate for a variety of reasons.

Out of all these events, Christmas perhaps generates the most interest. You don’t have to be a Christian to celebrate and enjoy the Yuletide season-see how much Dubai has leveraged on Christmas to attract tourists. It doesn’t also hurt that with their hot weather, many people from far colder December weather can travel to Dubai. Some people really do yearn for a white Christmas, that’s Christmas that’s snow-filled. Dubai rewards these kinds of tourists by recreating the whole white Christmas experience without the cold in temperate countries. In music, quite a few musical artistes have also caught on by releasing Christmas music. Almost every musician of note has put out a song. From Ariana Grande, John Legend, Mary J. Blige to Justin Bieber. Arguably, Mariah Carey holds the crown as the Queen of Christmas. Every year, her song “All I Want for Christmas” alone reportedly brings her $3.8m!

This is the same way some smart filmmakers especially in Hollywood have carved a niche in what can be termed the Christmas genre. And these people are not all necessarily Christians. But the fact remains that there’s a big market to tap into. The entire Christmas season is imbued with a dreamy fantasy-filled ambience and this reflected in the kind of stories told in films. Stories usually revolve around general feel-good themes of kindness, redemption (second chances), love, etc. The beauty of these stories is that audiences never tire of them. Every year, when it’s time, with Christmas Day a few months away, when you can almost ‘taste’ Christmas, and Christmas is in the air, people eagerly turn to these films. They don’t have to be brand new, but no one really minds the reruns. So, you’re looking at a couple of months before Christmas Day and even beyond because the season starts as early as November and sometimes runs through January. Surely, this translates to good money.

Which is why I’m a bit surprised that Nollywood hasn’t found a way to cash in on Christmas. Now, this doesn’t mean that Nollywood must copy the ‘oyinbo’ style of celebrating Christmas. For one, we can’t have a white Christmas in these parts. Our own stories can still be Nigerian while maintaining the general themes around Christmas. In fact, we can have almost any kind of film so long as their release is tied to the Yuletide season. What’s more important is to have films that use Christmas as their period of release. In the past, there have been short-lived attempts to have regular Christmas releases. Silent Night directed by Chico Ejiro was a December release as was its sequel. The audience waited for the sequel the next December. I quite liked the idea of having something to look forward to in December. Better when that becomes regular.  Then came The Wedding Party, in December 2016 (directed by Kemi Adetiba) and The Wedding Party 2 in December 2017 (directed by Niyi Akinmolayan). I was actually looking to that becoming a December trend. If anyone could pull that off, I think Mo Abudu and her partners stand a good chance. But alas.

Granted 2020 Christmas was like no other. But here’s hoping that Nollywood takes another chance with Christmas.

TRIBUTE

“…Chico Raised the Bar”

Many are still in shock over the death of Nollywood filmmaker Chico Ejiro popularly known as Mr. Prolific who died in the early hours of December 25, 2020. It just so happened that I had been giving more a passing thought to Chico Ejiro in the last couple of months. As Christmas rolled in with the inevitable Christmas movies, I was remembering Chico’s 1996 movie Silent Night, the closest thing we had to Christmas releases. Silent Night starred Joke Silva, Alex Usifo Omiagbo, Segun Arinze, Kate Henshaw, Ramsey Nouah among others. Incidentally, Zeb Ejiro, Chico’s older brother said there were plans being made for another Silent Night movie before his passing. The award-winning Zeb (who produced hits like Domitila) it was who introduced his brother into filmmaking.

Speaking to Channels TV on the death of his brother, an obviously grief-stricken Zeb couldn’t also hide how proud of Chico he was leading him to say: “I discovered the bar, but Chico raised the bar.” Indeed, the story of Nollywood cannot be told without Mr. Prolific. He was Mr. Prolific after all.  Although hard statistics have been hard to come by since Chico’s death, fellow filmmaker and friend, Fidelis Duker, said in his Facebook tribute that Chico Ejiro has an estimated 300 films to his credit. Nollywood no doubt has lost an icon.

Chico Ejiro was 51 years old. He hailed from Ozoro, Isoko North, Delta State and is survived by wife, Joy and four children.