Nollywood is not a joke, says Omoni Oboli

Omoni Oboli, actress and producer has said the Nigerian movie industry, dubbed Nollywood, is “not a joke” and as such, the efforts of filmmakers should be respected.

A fan recently criticised the actress on social media for shooting her new project – Okafor’s Law – within 3 weeks.

To commemorate the conclusion of the film’s shooting, Oboli shared on Instagram, the ordeals and challenges she faced on set.

“I can’t begin to tell you how grueling it has been for over three weeks. There were times I was overwhelmed but I love my job and that kept me going.”

“I think we might have broken a record. We finished shoot this morning and we already have the 1st cut of the full film ready. I had my editors working overtime”, she added.

But a fan wasn’t impressed with the fact that it took “3 weeks” to shoot the movie.

“What kind of movie do you make in 3 weeks. Nollywood is a serious joke. No offence, just saying”, the fan commented.

Rather than ignore the criticism, the actress gave the fan an education on the fundamentals of making a film while arguing that “filmmakers all over the world shoot in a couple of weeks as well.”

“You are kind of showing some ignorance. 3 weeks is for principal photography alone. I’ve been in pre-production for this movie for over a year and post production is still going to take some time.

“Nollywood is not a joke. It’s an industry that employs millions of Nigerians. At least over 250 Nigerians got paid on this project alone so put some ‘respek’ on my business”, said Oboli.