As we are nearing the end of the first half of 2023, we have all become more comfortable with change and disruption. Whether it is the pandemic, environmental factors, unstable global economic conditions, or tech evolution, we have learned to bounce back quickly. One industry that has had to be particularly agile during the past few years is the filmmaking industry. 

Canon’s new report (written in conjunction with The Future Laboratory) – The Future of Filmmaking, reveals the industry’s efforts to be a catalyst of change that inspires the creative industry to transform its narrative and to shine its spotlight on topics that will be significant in shaping the future of our world, and that of the African continent. 

Interestingly, the report sheds light on the human landscape and its power to create, cultivate, and drive change. The power of people ultimately makes things happen and pushes us toward progress and advancement in any industry. The report highlights four crucial aspects that may be driven by tech but not necessarily led by tech. In my view, these are significant factors directly proportional to the content creation and filmmaking industries and will undoubtedly shape the future of these industries.

Rise of the Creative Class

According to the UNESCO report, global cultural and creative industries (CCIs) are estimated to generate about $2.25 trillion annually, which accounts for 3% of the global GDP and employment of around 30 million people worldwide.

It is fascinating to see the rise of this creator economy, which the report identifies as the “New Creative Class”. As we witnessed an unprecedented boom in digitalisation over the last 10 years, this creative class sprang into action using technologies to deliver a fresh and novel take on content creation. 

If we lens in on the African continent, which is closer to home and more interesting to me, we see some remarkable trends in the creative economy. In Nigeria, as this report shows, the sector employs 4.2 million people and is expected to employ a further 2.7 million by 2025, an increase of more than 50% in the next two years. 

Despite the significant contribution made by the new creative class toward societal and economic progress, there still seems to be a gap in recognition compared to other industries.

The emerging community of content creators is striving to achieve fair working conditions, equitable payment models, and new standards in the industry that reflect their value and contributions. This is a positive development for the creative sector in its rightful plea to be recognised and treated fairly compared to other industries.

Stay Local

The explosion of digital technologies may have given us the power to do anything from anywhere, but like all things, too much of anything is not always good and has its own consequences.

With the plethora of content choices that suddenly became available for audiences to consume worldwide, an interesting trend emerged. People slowly started taking their eyes off the global stage and shifted their gaze towards local and home-made content that told stories of their land and their people. 

Given our natural desire as humans to find meaning, connectivity, and relatability, the narrative of authentic stories led independent storytellers, documentary-makers, content creators, and filmmakers to explore topics that local people resonate with. So, it’s no surprise that global streaming giants like Netflix and Disney are investing in Africa to tap the unexplored potential and talent.

The report encapsulates the essence of the ‘Stay global, go local’ movement and asserts that media organisations and creative firms will progressively be compelled to shift sight closer to home when it comes to entertainment and content production. 

Conscious Consumption

The current climate crisis affects us all, no matter which industry or walk of life we come from. The severity of climate change needs to be taken seriously globally, and genuine efforts must be made for scaled initiatives to reduce our carbon footprints. The streaming industry is no exception to this; the carbon impact of the industry drastically needs to be reduced by adopting a more sustainable approach towards this issue. 

The report underpins the significance of consumer demand as a key driver toward adopting sustainable practices and better industry standards. With people gaining more awareness about the environmental impact of their consumption choices, they are likely to demand pro-environmental practices, thus compelling the industry to adopt a pro-active approach towards sustainability.

Inclusive Innovation 

The Future of Filmmaking report highlights the positive development of inclusivity and diversity. It emphasises that the new creative class is at the forefront of inclusivity and is not afraid to challenge the already-established broadcasters. This new generation of creators identifies technology to harness change and propel social progress. Decentralisation will be a key trend touching every area of the industry, from financing to licensing and distribution and more, creating new opportunities for the underrepresented creators and bringing them closer to their fans. 

Continuing the Legacy of Storytelling 

These trends are a wake-up call to many in the industry to pay attention to the changing needs of people and to evolve with them. However, we must always return to the basics and remember the importance of telling stories.

While these trends affect the industry by and large, the shifts create more freedom for storytellers to come forth and tell their stories in unique and inspiring ways, enabling them to create content that is responsive to the tastes, locations, and ethics of their audiences in a way that has never been possible before. 

All in all, the report tells me that this is an exciting time to be a creator, with the industry opening its doors to new opportunities that reflect change, growth, development, and progress

Ope Ajayi, National President of CEAN, said the amount marked a 28 percent increase over the N294 million realized in August 2021, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

He, however, said that there was a 19 percent decline in tickets sold in August, as N471 million was generated in July.

“The 37 films shown in August realized over NGN378 million at the box office.

“13 Hollywood films accounted for 72.4 percent while 16 Nollywood films made a little over 22 percent.

He said the top five highest-grossing films in August were: Thur: Love and Thunder, Bullet Train, Beast, Hey you! and League of Surpets.

“Thor: Love and Thunder remained the highest-grossing, with N80 million in the month, which brings its lifetime revenue at Nigeria’s box office to over N350 million, as of 31st August,” he said.

Ajayi said the films to be out in September were: Where the Crawdads Sing, Passport, Symphony, Inside Life, Finding Ireti, The Woman King, Ticket of Life, Ticket of Paradise, and Don’t Worry Darling.

Ope Ajayi, National Chairman, CEAN said there was an increase comparing revenue generated in July with that of June, as well as comparing revenue in July 2021 with July 2022.

“The box office got total revenue of N471,679,856.00 for July, an increase from what we had in June N363,274,999.00; this is encouraging.

“Thor: Love & Thunder was the major outlier, accounting for over 54 per cent of the total Box Office revenue in July and 69 per cent of Hollywood, while ‘Ile Owo’ was Nollywood’s highest-grossing, accounting for about 4 per cent.

“Despite fewer tittles released in July (31), compared to June (41), Nigerian cinemas experienced a growth in box office revenue by 30 per cent comparing totals from both months.

“However, comparing July’s revenues for 2021 and 2022, cinemas gained 5 per cent increase.

“August looks to feature strong Nollywood titles alongside Bullet Train, hence, cinemas anticipate a strong build-up to the fourth quarter,” he said.

Ajayi noted that the top 5 highest-grossing films in July were: Thor: Love and Thunder, Minions 2:The Rise of Gru, Jurassic Work: Dominion, Ile Owo and Top Gun: Maverick.

He listed the movies to be released into the cinemas for the month of August as: Runner, Bullet Train, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, Cold, Akoni, Beast, The Set-Up 2, Rubucon,

Others include: The Stranger I Know, Dragon Ball Super: Superhero, The Invitation to Hell, All or Nothng, Big Trip 2: Special Delivery, Nope, Hammer and Obara’m.

About Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria

The Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) is an association of cinema owners, operators and managers incorporated by the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria.

They provide up-to-date information on best practices and identify ways to preserve and promote Nigerian exhibitors.

They promote the cultural, social, and economic benefits of a cinema-going culture in Nigeria and find new ways to attract patrons to cinemas.

The CEAN actively fights to stop piracy in Nigeria.

Because it speaks, it communicates, it educates and it cultivates change. I am often asked this question and my answer remains the same always. Photography is not just a tool for artistic expression or documentation, it is a lot more than that.

Photography has the power to raise awareness, to change the narrative thus inspiring people to take action, for instance my work around ‘Water Life’ from 2018 addressed the plight of water access and its impact not only on the society but also on women in rural regions, especially so in Ethiopia but also across Africa.

In reality, it is a tool to spread education not only inside our own regions and countries but also beyond our borders to be able to draw attention, start a conversation and bring people together.

So for me, photography does not really fit in any one description box, but rather it molds into something that you want to project out to the world.

Similar to the art of Cinema, photography can be used to entertain, educate, ask questions, and throw light on our history or all of the above.

It is really what you make out of it and that’s why it is vital for our society, educational institutions and governments today to encourage and empower photographers and to truly appreciate the art of photography.

Power of the Image – Forming Perceptions, Driving Change

As the founder and director of the Addis Foto Fest (AFF), the first international photography festival in East Africa hosted since 2010 in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I can vouch for the fact that photography has the potential to become a force that drives change. Of course, great power comes with a great responsibility and that is exactly what budding photographers today need to be made aware of.

Competitions such as ‘Moments that Matter’ reflect light on the pressing issues that we as a species and as a planet are facing together and these grave issues need to be conveyed to as many people as possible without making them despondent. That’s where the theme of sustainability fits in so well to showcase this ever-going cycle of today and tomorrow and its direct co-relation with each other.

Everything that we do today shapes our future for tomorrow, this is the encapsulating theme that photographers need to bear in mind whilst sending their submissions.

We live in this day and age of rapid consumption and according to Statista’s 2021 report on ‘Mobile Usage’, there are currently 6.4 billion smartphone users worldwide.

As unbelievable as this figure is, one can only imagine the number of images consumed by each of these people, and images have the inherent ability to form perceptions and perspectives. Hence, it is even more vital today to use this technology of smartphones and social media to direct messages of progress towards people to drive that sentiment that leads them to take action and make meaningful changes.

Canon’s initiative on empowering photographers to capture moments in the sustainability spectrum through categories that speak about economic, human, environmental and social progress is truly the pressing priority for all of us.

However, the beauty of the competition lies in the spirit of sustainability that rekindles the flame of hope in our hearts and gives us a reason to look forward to the future. It is this challenge that participating photographers need to understand and convey in their images, to show us the problem but also to shed light on its solutions.

As a practicing advocate of change through photography, I am extremely keen to see the submissions that come through allowing us to look at the world through someone else’s eye, to experience their vision and see what change others are aspiring to create not only in their own country but for the whole wide world.

Take for instance, my very own continent of Africa where more often than not, portrayal of poverty or other issues is depicted through photography which often lacks the balanced perspective in which also it is an indigenous view and not only through the foreign gaze or visual arts.

But today, this narrative is changing as we see a new generation of photographers who overcome great challenges to be the visual story tellers of a changing Africa in which they offer a new perspective that offers our humanity and humility.

This is the power of an image and through this medium to show the world the enormous amount of talent, culture, capabilities as well as the scope for a better future and this other side of Africa that is often hidden or lost in pictures.

Photography as a Means of Advocacy – Help to Heal

In a world as diverse and complex as ours, there are various issues that need to be brought to the surface to evoke a conversation leading us to solutions. This responsibility needs to be collectively shared not just by creative industries but all industries out there, even those that are impacting the narrative of our communities, nations and continents.

Even in the global discourse as it relates to our environment and planet, the power of the image and our connections through technologies offer us many opportunities for change.

One person may be able to plant a tree but together we can plant an entire forest and that is the power of helping and empowerment…in helping others we also help and heal ourselves.

This is the main reason why my work outside of being in museums or fine art has been a reflection of advocacy…. advocating the need to make a change.

As globalization has taken center-stage in the last few decades, we must realize this responsibility that we all now share – to really empower each other as people and then to empower our planet to prosper. Finding solutions together is key to unlocking the potential for tomorrow.

Photography is an excellent instrument to advocate the cause that you believe in, for me personally I have been passionate about environmental issues which is depicted through my images. Photographers participating in ‘Moments that Matter’ must look at engaging their art-forms to advocate and inspire others thus leveraging their visual language to become the hope for tomorrow.

No Pain, No Gain – Pursue your Passion to Find Greatness

Creativity is the birth of innovation and as daunting as it may seem to showcase a new angle or perspective through your images…that is where the true challenge of this visual art-form lies.

Authenticity is the key that unlocks the great power of photography. Photographers that understand this as the basic foundation of their work usually go a long way in their professional paths.

In the beginning however, it may seem like an impossible feat to achieve but it is the part of our journey that we need to embrace in order to become visible in this competitive and challenging creative world.

In the past, I have been through phases of disappointment as a young photographer when I struggled to prove my point to people but perseverance, patience and practice can take you anywhere as I have learned from my journey. I was inspired by photographer, Chester Higgins who taught me the tricks of the trade – to never stop believing in yourself, your work and to always remain authentic. That advice has led me to become who I am today.

I stuck to black and white photography as my core niche even though the world was booming with innovations in colored photography. It is crucial to reflect your own individual point of view in your work without getting overwhelmed by trends or fads. That remains my advice for all budding photographers who dream to make their mark in the world…be authentic, remain consistent and believe in yourself!

Submit your entries HERE.