Dialogue Forum with Nkechinyere Mbakwe: Nollywood – Pure Profit-Making or Healing of the Colonial Trauma? Tuesday, 17 July 2012, 19h, GLS Language School Berlin

On Tuesday, 17 July 2012 at 19h AfricAvenir invites to a Dialogue Forum with Dr. phil. Nkechinyere Mbakwe on the topic "Nollywood – Pure Profit-Making or Healing of the Colonial Trauma?" (in German) at GLS Language School in Berlin. The author of the AfricAvenir publication "Nollywood – Trauma and Healing" is research assistant at the worldwide first Research Centre dedicated to the study of Nollywood at Pan-African University, School of Media and Communication in Lagos. n|+| DW Interview with Nkechinyere Mbakwe (in French)nEveryone is talking about Nollywood. In less than 20 years the Nigerian home video industry has risen to the third biggest film industry in the world – just behind Hollywood in the USA and Bollywood in India. Nollywood is widely known as a model of economic success but also dismissed by its critics as trivial greed for profit. However, do the more than 1,000 films produced per year which are viewed by millions on the African continent and its diaspora possibly have a deeper, perhaps even curative function? Nkechinyere Mbakwe’s thesis is that by creating and effectively distributing its own images Nollywood significantly contributes to healing the colonial trauma and to creating a Pan-African identity.nNkechinyere Mbakwe
Dr. phil. Nkechinyere Mbakwe deals with the healing of the word both as an academic and as a singer. She currently lives in Lagos where she works as a research associate at the worldwide first Nollywood Research Centre of the Pan-African University, School of Media and Communication.nTuesday 17 July 2012 19:00
Admission: donation  
Location: GLS Language School (Sprachenzentrum), Lounge
Kastanienallee 82 10435 Berlin Prenzlauer Berg
U 2 Eberswalder Str.
U 8 Rosenthaler Platz
M1 Schwedter Str.nPublikation: „Oral Nollywood – Trauma und Heilung“ 
AfricAvenir präsentiert die erste umfangreiche deutschsprachige Publikation zu Nollywood. “Nollywood“ bezeichnet die mittlerweile drittgrößte Filmindustrie der Welt, nach Hollywood in den USA und Bollywood in Indien. In weniger als 20 Jahren hat sich die nigerianische Homevideoindustrie einen Namen gemacht und wird auf internationalen Konferenzen besprochen; dies insbesondere im anglophonen Sprachraum. Mit „Oral Nollywood – Trauma und Heilung“ bietet Nkechinyere Mbakwe nun endlich eine nigerianisch-deutsche Perspektive auf das Filmphänomen Nigerias an.  Dabei geht es in dieser Arbeit weniger um inhaltlich-thematische Aspekte der Filme oder kommerzielle Kontexte, sondern vielmehr um einen medien- und kulturwissenschaftlichen Beitrag zum Verständnis Nollywoods und seiner Entstehungsgeschichte aus der Tradition des Yoruba Wandertheaters. Diese innovative Forschungsleistung erschließt damit in Deutschland noch wenig bekannte Zusammenhänge Westafrikas.n"Nollywood – Trauma und Heilung" reads like a conversation and shines light on aspects no one considered till now. Dr. Mbakwe brings the subject of Nollywood into the highly intellectual cultural circles, with brio. No, it´s not just about monetizing a stock of blank DVD… there is much more to be "discovered", well for those who initially snubbed the pop phenomenon. Numbers don´t lie: the millions of viewers across and beyond Ahfricah, who know what is good for the body-mind-soul have been self-prescribing. Even the New York times got hooked and has been reporting on "the making of Nigeria´s film industry". Yes, the "industry" cos it has grown and is still growing more professional at all levels, more efficient in giving our voices the resonance (ability to evoke or suggest images, memories, and emotions) we need to heal. Funmi KogbenBestellungen:
ISBN 978-3-9812733-6-6 
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