DANIEL ESTRIN, HOST:
Nigeria has a booming film industry, but critics of Nollywood (ph) say its biggest productions often emphasize a glitzy version of Nigerian life. Now an emerging film festival in the city of Lagos, Nigeria's economic center is trying to change that. NPR's Jewel Bright takes us to meet some of the people behind this effort.
JEWEL BRIGHT, BYLINE: A few hundred cool kids, mostly young independent filmmakers and creatives, descended on a cultural center in an affluent part of Lagos earlier this month. They've come to the S16 Film Festival, an annual event that spotlights alternative short films.
FALANA: Bright and early, I welcome you all. Again, my name is Falana, and I'll be taking us through this program.
BRIGHT: Then they shuffle into the theater for the first film screening.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: I think from time, you know, I've sort of identified with the alte guys, you know?
BRIGHT: The first is a documentary film titled "The Kids Are Alright," on the alte scene in Nigeria, an alternative subculture that has achieved global appeal across Nigerian music and fashion.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: I mean, alternative is alternative, basically.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Alternative to the norm.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: I mean, alte is what you want it to be, man.
BRIGHT: It celebrates the creativity and resilience of young Nigerians and spots light some of the immense challenges they face...
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #5: Open the door. Open up. Open up (ph)...
BRIGHT: ...And reflects on the End SARS demonstrations against police brutality that swept through the country in 2020 but ended when Nigerian security forces opened fire at hundreds of protesters. At least 12 people were killed.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT")
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: What do we want (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Answers (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: What do we want (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Answers (ph).
BRIGHT: The atmosphere in the theater is tense and sometimes emotional, as people relive the traumatic events from the protest.
ABBA MAKAMA: I'm very vulnerable when I'm making films, and I'm not afraid to be deeply honest.
BRIGHT: Abba Makama is the producer of the film. He says, unlike conventional Nollywood films, he wants to tackle issues that show overlooked realities of life in Nigeria.
MAKAMA: There's lack of nuance in Nollywood films. It's very generic. It is very, very, very generic. And that's people just being afraid to show the reality of who they are, you know?
BRIGHT: Abba's views are shared by Mike Omonua, one of the organizers of the S16 Film Festival. He says, Nollywood needs more diverse content.
MIKE OMONUA: One of the key conventions of Nollywood is melodrama, right? So it's up to us now to push the Nigerian ecosystem in a different direction so it's multifaceted, it's multidimensional.
BRIGHT: But this is not an easy task, says Tomide Gbamiboye, a 26-year-old young filmmaker who is trying to do just that.
TOMIDE GBAMIBOYE: Unfortunately, we don't get the support that we need. There's so many great and ridiculously talented filmmakers that are not getting the financial support or just, like, the mentorship they need to make it big as a filmmaker in Nigeria.
BRIGHT: But she says at least festivals like S16 are a good start for her to find like-minded creators who are pursuing the same goal.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #6: (Laughter).
BRIGHT: As the film "The Kids Are Alright" ends, the somberness of the theater is replaced by cheers and laughter.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #7: The only way is up.
(CHEERING)
BRIGHT: For many people here, this event shows that there's a growing appeal for stories that show the full range of Nigerian life. Jewel Bright, NPR News, Lagos.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EMPTY HOUSES")
STRAIGHT WHITE TEETH: (Singing) The light is falling with the waves like a grudge to bear. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.