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Hausa-language cinema, known informally as Kannywood, is the Hausa-language film industry of northern Nigeria. It is based in Kano.

Kannywood

Kannywood is the sobriquet for Hausa-language cinema. It is a part of the larger Nigerian cinema, known as Nollywood, which includes other production centres producing films in many other Nigerian languages. The name "Kannywood" is a portmanteau derived from the city name of Kano and Hollywood, the center of the American film industry. "Kannywood" was coined in 1999 by Sunusi Shehu Daneji, publisher of Tauraruwa ("Star") Magazine to capture the growing Hausa video film scene from which point it became the popular reference term for the film industry of Northern Nigeria. The term preceded the label Nollywood which originated with New York Times journalist Norimitsu Onishi in 2001 in referencing the Lagos-based film industry.

History

The Hausa language cinema slowly evolved from the productions of RTV Kaduna and Radio Kaduna in the 1960s. Veterans like Dalhatu Bawa and Kasimu Yero pioneered drama productions that became popular with the Northern audience.

In the 70's and 80's, Usman Baba Pategi and Mamman Ladan introduced the Hausa Comedy to the Northern audience.

1990s: Bollywood influence

The 1990s saw a dramatic change in the Hausa language cinema, eager to attract more Hausa audience who find Bollywood movies more attractive, Kannywood; a cinematic synthesis of Indian and Hausa culture evolved and became extremely popular. Turmin Danya ("The Draw"), 1990, is usually cited as the first commercially successful Kannywood film. It was quickly followed by others like Gimbiya Fatima In Da So Da Kauna, Munkar, Badakala and Kiyarda Da Ni. New actors like Ibrahim Mandawari and Hauwa Ali Dodo became popular and set the stage for the emergence of super-star like female actresses later on.

2000s Kannywood

By 2012, over 2000 film companies were registered with the Kano State Filmmakers Association.

A local censoring committee created by Kanywood Producers and Marketers was converted into a board and named Kano State Censorship Board in 2001 by Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. Mr. Dahiru Beli was appointed the first Executive Secretary of the board.

Music

Songwriters and singers who produce or perform music in Hausa films include Nazifi Asnanic, Naziru M Ahmad, Ali Jita, and Fati Nijar. Umar M Sharif ,

Critics

Islamic critics

In 2003, with the rise of the Izala and the coming to power of Ibrahim Shekarau, the then ultra-religious government of Kano initiated an iconoclastic campaign against Kannywood. Numerous movies deemed irreligious were censored and some film makers were jailed. This reversed some of the gains Kannywood had made and allowed the Southern Nigerian film industry to supersede it.

Problems with government

In 2007, the Hiyana Affair: when the sex tape of a popular actress became public led to a severe backlash from the then Islamist government of Kano State under Ibrahim Shekarau. Shekarau went on to appoint a Director General for the censorship board, Abubakar Rabo Abdulkareem with the support of the Izala Society and other Islamist organisations, Kannywood and the equally popular Hausa romantic novel industry were severely censored, actors, actresses and writers were jailed by the state government and books and other media materials were burnt by the Governor himself. In 2011 the replacement of the Islamist government by a much more liberal government led by the PDP led to a more favourable atmosphere for the industry. In 2019, following the re-election of governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as governor of Kano State, a new spate of arrests of musicians and filmmakers was launched by the Censorship Board under its Executive Secretary, Isma'il Na'abba Afakallahu. A movie director, Sunusi Oscar, and a musician, Naziru M. Ahmad, were arrested and taken to court over accusations that they released songs without the permission of the censor. The duo were released on bail. The opposition Kwankwasiyya Movement stated that the arrests were politically motivated because the accused persons were considered as sympathizers of the Peoples Democratic Party in the last general election.

See also

• Kannywood Actors

References

1. Carmain, Mcain (2009). "The Newsletter of the West African Research Association (WARA)and the West African Research Center (WARC)" (Spring, 2009): 20. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
2. Focus, Kano (December 11, 2023). "Kannywood Trajectories 2: The Magazines". Kano Focus. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
3. Jedlowski, Alessandro (January 1, 2011). "When the Nigerian video film industry became "Nollywood": Naming, branding and the videos' transnational mobility". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. Babagana M Gana (June 1, 2012). "Hausa-English code-switching in Kanywood Films". International Journal of Linguistics. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013.
5. "Nazifi Asnanic [HausaFilms.TV - Kannywood, Fina-finai, Hausa Movies, TV and Celebrities]". hausafilms.tv. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
6. "Kannywood's finest, worst moments of 2014 - Premium Times Nigeria". January 1, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
7. "Kannywood singer, Naziru Ahmed, weds - Premium Times Nigeria". January 7, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
8. "Ali Jita [HausaFilms.TV - Kannywood, Fina-finai, Hausa Movies, TV and Celebrities]". hausafilms.tv. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
9. Liman, Bashir; Abuja (October 27, 2018). "Ali Jita holds concert, launches war against cancer". Daily Trust. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
10. "Lafiyata kalau —Fati Nijar". BBC News Hausa (in Hausa). February 28, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
11. "Singer Fati Nijar turbanned 'queen of Hausa singers in Europe'". November 25, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
12. Shareef, Umar (November 4, 2017). "Why I dumped music for acting — Abdul Shareef". Retrieved November 4, 2017.
13. "Book-Burning Nigerian Minister Of Education Explains Why He Did It As Governor Of Kano". Sahara Reporters. August 24, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
14. "Kano singer, Sarkin Wakan arrested over alleged anti-Ganduje songs". September 13, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
15. Muhammed, Isiyaku (September 12, 2019). "Kwankwasiyya reacts, as Police arrest popular Kano singer, Sarkin Wakar". Daily Trust. Retrieved February 18, 2020.

• Cinema of Nigeria
• Hausa-language culture