The Asaba and Enugu Nollywood movies owners, actors, and lovers, are possibly wondering why their movies are neglected by awards and major cinemas. There are reasons why this neglect happens. In this post, we’ll be looking at the reasons why Asaba and Enugu Nollywood movies aren’t awarded or go far in cinemas.
Asaba and Enugu Nollywood movies are the Nigerian movies shot and marketed in Enugu and Asaba, two southeast cities. These movies shot here are usually meant for the southeast market before the consideration of a wider market and reach. Most of these movies don’t go far in terms of winning award or getting viewed well in the cinema like the ones shot, produced, and marketed in Lagos.
Now, there are many reasons why this might be happening. In this post, we’ll be writing about the reasons.
The Reasons why Asaba and Enugu Nollywood Movies aren’t awarded or go far in Cinemas
1. Poor Production
Whenever people are asked why Enugu and Asaba movies aren’t doing well in garnering awards and getting watched in the cinema, the number 1 reason they give is poor production of Enugu and Asaba movies. This is not exactly true, though.
In Lagos, there are also poorly produced movies. In Asaba and Enugu, there are mixtures of the good and bad. It is not right for Nigerians to brand everything coming from Asaba and Enugu to be bad movies. There are decent and more than average movies.
One of the greatest negative effect against Asaba and Enugu movies is Poor PR. Nonetheless, the producers in this section of Nollywood should do well in improving in the quality of their production. There should be better directing, cinematography, casting, storytelling, picture quality, acting, and so on. By this way, a lot of Enugu and Asaba movies can compete internationally.
Now, we’ll go to the second reason for the poor performance of this type of movies.
2. Poor PR
Enugu and Asaba movies aren’t properly promoted like they should. Lagos movies receive greater amount of PR than Lagos movies. The producers of Enugu and Asaba movies should look at investing a lot in PR. PR means better publicity and sales for the producers.
There are many good movies in this section of Nollywood that aren’t watched or heard.
3. Poor Budget
The producers of Asaba and Enugu movies should learn how to improve their budgets for movies. Fine, Nollywood industry is unpredictable in terms of profitability, but with good investment in marketing, most producers will get good returns. The bane of Enugu and Asaba movies industry is the neglect of marketing.
With bigger budget, better movies are produced, and in an expanded time. Then, the movies should be promoted for people to watch. This is one aspect some Lagos movies are getting it right. A good amount of your movie budget should go to marketing.
4. Neglect of Marketing
We have already written about this reason slightly earlier. The neglect of marketing is killing Asaba and Enugu movies. Marketing is a vital part of movie production that shouldn’t be neglected. While planning your movie, put a good amount of the budget on marketing.
5. Poor Cinema Culture
This is also another aspect that’s killing the Southeast movie industry. Many residents in the region haven’t learned how to patronize cinemas. Thus, the producers don’t focus on cinemas.
However, we believe this can be corrected with the proper marketing. Residents of some southeast cities like Enugu, Asaba, Awka, Port Harcourt, Calabar, and Owerri will certainly turn out to the cinema to watch movies. The ticket prices shouldn’t be put a high cost though.
The producers of the movies can also showcase the movies in cinemas in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, and some other large cinemas. Once the movie is good, and the proper marketing is done, with a nice story, the turn out to the movie would be great.
6. Bad and Repeated Stories and Storytelling
Most viewers have complained that a lot of Enugu and Asaba movies look similar in stories and acting. This can be frustrating as they tend to watch the same storyline over and over again. In addition, the same set of actors and actresses are used. This makes the industry kind of a joke.
Producers of Enugu and Asaba movies should consider employing good writers to write their scripts. The scripts should be well-written and original. It will help a lot in putting a stop to repetition of storylines. Furthermore, they should stop using the same set of actors.
One or two popular actors can be used in a movie for it to sell, and then new actors and actresses should be given a chance.
7. Lack of Submission to Movie Award and Festivals
The producers should learn how to submit their flicks to movie awards and festivals for promotion and competition. No one will know how good the movies are if they aren’t submitted to awards and festivals. It is through these that the world knows of the existence of such movies.
Producers, actors, directors, and all members of the crew of Asaba and Enugu movie industry should learn how to attend movie festival and shows in Nigeria and around the world. By this way, the industry is not neglected and more people get to see our movies.
8. Too much Focus on Profitability
This is one aspect that is killing the industry. The producers and directors are constantly considering how much they will make in the movie. Thus, they shoot countless movies on a very low budget. For the industry to gain relevance, this has to stop. It has to be about quality not quantity.
A movie should be well-written, well-directed, well-marketed, and also well-produced. Directors and producers in the industry should stop producing mediocre movies.
Conclusion
This post has presented the reasons why Asaba and Enugu Nollywood Movies aren’t awarded or go far in cinemas. It is up to the producers and directors to look at the aspect of improving the situation of the industry so the industry doesn’t lose relevance.