A number of well- respected scholars, academics and literary enthusiasts across the world have hailed the latest book by a veteran journalist, film critic and movie aficionado, Steve Ayorinde.
The book, ’30: Three Decades Of The New Nigerian Cinema – A Bystander’s Verdict’ is being distributed globally in print (hard cover and paperback) and on kindle by Amazon.
The book is also available on Lulu and Smashwords for global buyers; and on Okadabooks in Nigeria.
The book, Ayorinde’s fourth, celebrates the new Nigerian cinema, famously known as Nollywood, by focusing on the movies, actors, directors and landmark events that made huge impact on the industry in the last 30 years.
Here are some of the remarkable comments by well-acclaimed scholars on why Ayorinde’s latest book is a great addition to the growing body of work on the dynamic film industry in Nigeria:
(Some of these remarks had appeared as blurb on the back page of the colourful, well,illustrated book).
This is a work of admirable sensitivity and intelligence. At a time when the history of Nigerian cinema seems to be no more than what is available to stream on a mobile phone, Steve Ayorinde provides a comprehensive account spanning decades, reminding us of mostly forgotten, though memorable, moments and personalities. Historic and cleverly historical, the book has the additional value of showing the multiple dimensions of a film – everything there is to see, the persistence of vision!
– Dr. Akin Adesokan
Author of “Everything Is Sampled: Digital and Print Mediations in African Arts and Letters”
A splendid documentation of the Nollywood voyage, taking us on a jive through the choicest Nigerian movies of all times. A truly riveting read that promises to be the favourite of every Nigerian film enthusiast.
– Tosin Tume (PhD)
Playwright, Theatre Creator & Scholar, Rhodes University, South Africa/Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria.
A visually-pleasing and capacious account of Africa’s most dominant storytelling medium, 30: Three Decades Of The New Nigerian Cinema curates a historical and vibrant archive that explores the past, present, and future of Nollywood. Steve Ayorinde was present at the first enunciatory moments of the industry. He is here thirty years later, excavating the most special images and narratives that honour what is fiercely memorable and rambunctious about Nigerian filmmaking. There is a succinct yet solid sense of history here and it is refreshing in a country that loves to forget.
– James Yeku
Assistant Professor of African Digital Humanities, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA
In ‘Three Decades of the New Nigerian Cinema’, Steve Ayorinde presents a remarkable range of talents, movies and events that have defined the vibrant and self-styled Nigerian motion picture industry dubbed Nollywood. The book provides an absorbing overview of Nollywood’s journey here through the lives and works of practitioners that have offered us enthralling movie experience that has continued to fascinate generations. Written with infectious passion, wit and insight, the book is beautifully illustrated and fact-filled.
– Shaibu Husseini, PhD
Film Scholar/Culture Journalist
It’s a very important addition to the annals of filmmaking in Nigeria. I am not sure there has been a more comprehensive chronicle. It’s simply a pacesetter, and will be much consulted by those who intend to document the advent of Nollywood and its progress.
The content is well-organized and touches on the epochs (of filmmaking in Nigeria) and all the players who “made it happen”. I also love the “commentary-like” language.
– Olanrewaju Kayode
Literary Enthusiast, Publisher & Book Editor
Part of Journalism is the ability to keep journals and the retrieval of materials saved for appropriate times. Steve Ayorinde in 30: Three Decades of the new Nigerian Cinema has put out a resource material that will serve generations to come. Those who can feel the pain of putting this kind of work together are those whose vocation is documentation and dissemination of relevant information. Though Ayorinde frames himself as a bystander, I will say his verdict is in sharp focus just like the images in the book and lines that evoke memories of time past.
I recommend this book to all consumers of Nigerian Cinema who are interested in how the producers got to where they are now.
– Kole Odutola (PhD Media Studies)
Senior Lecturer, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA
Steve Ayorinde’s experience and dynamic relationship with the Nigerian film industry from an enthusiastic observer to a commissioner of arts and culture, with several key functions in between has yielded a unique book written with candid dedication and unequalled insight. In 30: Three decades of the New Nigerian Cinema…, he melds historical accounts of the industry’s forerunners and events with contemporary ones to produce at once a fascinating tribute to film people and an implicit charge for more documentation. The book corrects, eulogizes, honours and complicates film history from an insider’s perspective leaving its reader enlightened and yearning for more. Anyone with an interest in Nollywood will find this book a delightful and powerful read, a toolkit, and an indispensable launchpad for a deeper study of Africa’s largest and most respected film industry.
For an industry the size of Nollywood, which creates entertainment and wealth, produces stars and fan cultures, redefines cinema-going and repositions the creative industries in Africa, the amount of industry-driven books is negligible. Most of the work has been left to academics who by virtue of their target audience and purpose, exclude the general public including the practitioners they write about. That is why Steve Ayorinde’s new book, written from a close observer’s standpoint, is of critical importance to both the industry and academia. Local and international enthusiasts of Nollywood will devour its contents and yearn for more similar accounts. It is my wish that at the launch of this book, someone will commission thirty (to honour Ayorinde’s title) writing projects on Nollywood.
– Dr Añulika Agina
Associate Professor, Media Studies, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos
As cultural fields evolve from their foundational basics to glorious successes as an industry, they draw more serious and sustained attention from the practitioners, stakeholders, bystanders, and consumers. This book, 30: Three Decades Of The New Nigerian Cinema, marks a significant milestone in the study or showcasing of the content and facilitators of the Nigerian film industry popularly known as Nollywood. Through a series of often stunning photographs and brief informative textual annotations, Steve Ayorinde ironically proves that he is more than “a bystander” in the evolution of Nollywood. The author draws from his vast knowledge of the field and his background as an artist, journalist, and cultural administrator to curate beautiful and sometimes sad snapshots of three decades of Nigerian the film industry. The result is a volume that although non-comprehensive in its coverage, combines elements of a standard coffee-table compendium and showbiz light-hearted entertainment in parading some of the most important people and films associated with Nollywood. Besides, given the book’s contribution to the ongoing debate on the origins of Nollywood, it promises to be controversial as the jury is still out on the matter. Against this backdrop, this book will prove useful to all those interested in the sensational new Nigerian cinema—filmmakers, performers, students, scholars, and the public.
— Nduka Otiono
Director of the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University and President of the Canadian Association of African Studies.
