Joy Isi Bewaji announces break from Nollywood

The writer revealed how heartbroken she was after watching 'Mimi', the newly-released drama directed by Samuel 'Bigsam' Olatunji.

Joy Isi Bewaji has announced plans to cut ties with Nollywood and focus on other business interests.

The top screenwriter recently shared a post on Facebook explaining her early retirement from the industry.

In the lengthy post motivated by the newly released Samuel Olatunji directed 'Mimi' which she scripted, she described her experience with Nollywood as heartbreaking.

"I'm taking a break from writing commercially for Nollywood, and this is why...I watched MIMI yesterday at a cinema. I woke up by 7am, went to the gym, had my breakfast, and then took an Uber to the cinema by 10am to see the movie. I couldn't finish watching the movie...I am watching this movie, and I am asking myself...'But...but...na me write the movie na. So what is going on here?' It's like gaslighting.," Bewaji wrote.

[Facebook/ Joy Isi Bewaji]

"You know what you wrote. They are saying what you wrote, to some extent...But what is this over-acting and poor acting? What is this bland interpretation? What is this nuance? What is this dialogue? The work is lost in translation. And you are staring at the barest form of what the work could have been. You are staring at the barest form of what you thought your art could ever be. No love relationship hurts as much as that. Only Nollywood can break my heart like it does."

Amid her heartbreak, she also applauded Nollywood for doing so much with so little. "Nollywood is trying. By jove, the industry is trying. Making water out of stones is a miracle. I understand that clearly. And I will always be rooting for them. They have the best intentions, and that is OK sometimes. But not enough, most times."

The screenwriter is popular for movies like 'Seven and Half Dates', 'Love Potion' among others.