“South Africa Is Ahead Of Us In Filmmaking” – Pere Egbi Challenges Nollywood

 

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Reality TV star and Nollywood actor, Pere Egbi, has sparked conversations online after openly stating that South African filmmakers are far ahead of their Nigerian counterparts in Nollywood. 

Pere made this known in a post shared on his X handle, where he praised the quality of South African movies and admitted that Nigeria’s movie industry still has a lot of catching up to do.

According to him, after watching a South African film, he could not help but notice the difference in storytelling, production quality, work ethics, and overall execution compared to what Nollywood often produces.

 Pere stressed that he was not trying to offend his colleagues in the industry but pointed out that the gap is clear and undeniable.

His post read: “No offense to my Nollywood colleagues but you see South Africa, they are ahead of us o when it comes to film production, storytelling, filmmaking, work ethics, name it. They are ahead. We need to collaborate!”

The comment immediately drew mixed reactions online. While some Nollywood fans and industry players agreed with him, others felt his opinion was a harsh comparison. Many argued that despite Nollywood’s challenges, it remains one of the largest film industries in the world in terms of output and audience reach.

For years, Nollywood has battled issues such as low-budget productions, rushed storylines, and poor technical quality in some of its films. 

On the other hand, South Africa, though producing fewer films annually, has invested heavily in quality, modern equipment, and structured film schools that continue to churn out professionals with strong technical know-how. 

This difference in approach, Pere argued, is why South African movies tend to shine more on international platforms like Netflix and film festivals.

Pere’s statement also touched on the need for more collaboration between Nollywood and the South African movie industry. He suggested that such partnerships could help Nigerian filmmakers learn new techniques, improve storytelling depth, and achieve higher production quality. 

He insisted that Nollywood has the talent and creativity, but must work on structure, professionalism, and technical aspects to meet global standards.

Many Nigerians online, however, came to Nollywood’s defense. They highlighted the fact that Nollywood thrives in spite of little to no government support, limited funding, and infrastructural challenges. They argued that the sheer volume of Nollywood productions shows the industry’s resilience and massive influence across Africa and beyond.

Still, others admitted that Pere had a point. They said Nollywood must focus more on quality rather than quantity if it hopes to dominate the global stage.

 With platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Showmax now investing heavily in African content, the pressure is on Nollywood to step up and compete at the highest level.

Pere’s bold statement has since gone viral, and many industry watchers believe it could spark the kind of conversations Nollywood needs to improve. Whether or not people agree with him, one thing is clear: the debate about Nollywood’s growth and how it can catch up with its global peers is far from over.

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#Nollywood

#Pere