An original idea. That can't be too hard. The library must be full of them.” These are words from Stephen Fry, British actor, writer, comedian and creative all rounder. A quote that I think that the Nigeria movie industry can take a hint from, especially script writers and movie makers.
Not to take anything from the evolution and stunning progress of Nigerian script writers and filmmakers and their efforts in contributing to the glorious rise of Nollywood pushing it to become the second highest movie industry in the world. In fact, ever since the inception of “Nollywood” as a community and the umbrella term for all movies made by Nigerians, for Nigerians and the international audience and even before then, the entertainment industry has always been a hub for creativity and story telling at its finest.
Sure it may seem like a daunting task to the average filmmaker to beautifully adapt a literary work, and sometimes it is, but it is not an impossible task. Older western Nigerian filmmakers were doing of some sort, although they were not adapting written literary works, their plays were rooted deep into their unwritten literary culture, stories that had been passed down orally. But adaptation is beyond that.
The novel, novella, short story or whatever you may call them are basically written works, fictive or factual, that tells stories of human experience through characters and actions. A genre that Nigeria has seen great returns and recognition over time, with greats like Chinua Achebe, Soyinka and Chimmanda being the first set of names to come to mind, but that is not all Nigeria has to offer, the talented twisted fairy tale writer, Helen Oyeyemi, the Booker Prizer winner in Ben Okri and fan favorite leader of contemporary writers from Nigeria, Akwaeke Emezi are just a few to mention in a forever expanding list.
Despite the array of talents and stories, Nollywood has overtime seen a decline in fresh, original stories. Sure the independent, sub sector of Nollywood and Nigerian movies being sponsored streaming services have breathed fresh air into the industry, however, the main industry seem to be lacking in inventiveness. Most of these caused by over commercialization, and the release of sub par movies for profit. “African Magic” movies or “Asaba movies’ as they are typically called have either been a continuous re-telling of faux morality or grass to grace stories. Literary adaptations can tell the world that we are beyond that. That we have stories that not only entertain but keeps the crowd mentally active while watching, stories that stay true to ourselves while offering something qualitative to the world of art. We need more, more stories. Stories that might perhaps one day give us that international film award that we are so due for.
The adaptation process of novels and short stories is by no means an easy task, there is need for an inept understanding of the writer’s work by filmmaker. One does not plunge into such a task with the mind of cutting corners or looking for shortcuts. The filmmaker needs to be able to retell the author’s story while staying true the author’s intention to a certain extent and be able to include his own elements, because it would be impossible to adapt a novel page for page but staying true to the plot is vital to a proper adaptation.
Hollywood has shown that investing in the adaptation literary works brings its various benefits and are as well reaping the harvest of their hard work. Although Hollywood have original screen plays, a major part of their industry depends on adaptation of literary works, with famous movie sagas like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games all being products of popular best selling book series. It’s not limited to the fantasy and action genre either, many original stories from the online literature platform from Wattpad have been adapted into movies and series most popularly After and The Kissing Booth.
I for one do not think that literary works are only limited to books, comic adaptations have been more than successful in the movie industry with comics from Marvel Comics, DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics being among the most famously adapted and have become popular household names.
But Nigeria herself is not in short supply of beautifully written books that can pique the interests of any audience, local or international. The selcouth works of Amos Tutuola, “The Palm Wine Drinkard” and “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” that champion the metaphysicality of Yoruba culture, accompanied by style and language that delivered in humorous dialogue would make for good television. Achebe’s array of historical factions; “There was a Country” and “Things Fall Apart” are widely read classics that have gained recognition even among the international audience,such works in the hands of filmmakers with mastery of the craft of adaptation, and just maybe Nigeria might be on her way to a best historical picture. Even in the contemporary era, there are no short of recommendations, with novels like ‘Children of Blood and Bones” by Tomi Adeyemi being a stellar example.
Sure everything above might just sound like optimistic theories and wishful thinking, but what is stopping us from trying. There is no certainty that adapting literary works into our films Nigeria would produce the same result like in Hollywood but watching idly as our industry collapses on itself is not also the solution. I mean, Chimmanda’s work, “Half of a Yellow Sun” was created into a film and there I say a beautiful one that.
Yes! original movies are still being made and yes! they are still selling but why not try more, be inventive with the old, so that the new is not out of reach. In the race to produce more quality and eye catching movies to an ever impatient and hyper audience, it seems that our brown dusty books might have the right answers.