Wednesday, March 4, 6:00 p.m. & Sunday, March 8, 12:00 p.m. | This documentary explores Nigeria's booming film industry, which produces over 2,000 films annually despite minimal budgets and two-week shooting schedules. Filmmakers Mallal and Addelman follow directors, actors, and producers through Lagos, revealing how Nollywood emerged from economic collapse in the 1990s to become the world's third-largest film industry. The film examines recurring themes of witchcraft, Christianity, and corruption that dominate Nollywood narratives, while profiling key figures who built this video-film phenomenon. Through behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, it captures an industry creating uniquely African entertainment for mass audiences, operating outside Western film industry models with revolutionary distribution through markets and video shops.
African Cinema: From Independence to Now Lecture Series | January 28–May 17, 2026
This film series explores 65 years of African cinema, from anti-colonial resistance to digital reinvention. Through 14 films from across the continent, African filmmakers reimagine the medium as a tool for decolonization, self-representation, and artistic innovation, connecting the political with the poetic. Presented in collaboration with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Art History, Theory, and Criticism department. Lecturer: Delinda Collier, Professor of Art History. Synopses by Delinda Collier. Select titles offered with encores; encores do not include lecture.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu