EXPLORING THE BARRIERS TO THE EMERGENCE OF NEW TALENTS IN NOLLYWOOD

ABSTRACT The Nigerian film industry, Nollywood, is one of the largest film industries in the world, which has experienced rapid growth in recent time. Its growth and development have been hinged on a number of factors, which cannot elude talents. However, the question of sustainability of the industry has attracted research interests. This study examined barriers to the rise of new talents in Nollywood, with a view to investigating the socioeconomic barriers, examining the impact of nepotism on the rise of new talents, evaluating the effectiveness of talent development programmes and proffering viable solutions to lifting barriers to the emergence of new talents in Nollywood. The study adopted mixed-method. Purposive sampling was employed to select a sample size of 50 popular and active Nollywood film practitioners in the Ogun State theatre. Data were collected using survey and structured interviews to ten of the Nollywood practitioners. Gate keeping by Kurt Lewin and Agenda Setting Theory by Maxwel McComb served as the framework. It was observed that nepotism was significant as a barrier to the rise of new talents in Nollywood film industry. Socioeconomic barriers, namely, lack of adequate funding and finance stood as huge factors that hinder the rise of new talents in the Nollywood film industry. It is recommended that deliberate efforts should be made, by the government, to facilitate the industry. The film association should put in more effort in order to pave way for not only the rise of new talents in the industry, but also the smooth career growth of the talents and the industry as a whole.