Zeb Ejiro rates more authentic old Nollywood over new Nollywood

Ejiro wants young Nollywood filmmakers to stop being lazy with the stories they're producing.

Nollywood filmmaker Zeb Ejiro isn't a great fan of how difficult it is to relate to the stories being produced by the current crop of filmmakers.

The industry veteran has produced films like Domitilla and Sakobi the Snake Girl which are considered classics.

He said in a recent interview that films of his era in the 1990s and 2000s were more authentic than what the industry is producing now.

"The stories were so natural and typical that one could relate to them and that resonated perfectly with the people. That's why it was so popular out there," he told Inside Nollywood.

Ejiro conceded that the production quality today is obviously better due to broader access to more sophisticated resources, but expressed disappointment with the quality of the stories. The producer asked to see better stories that focus on the African experience.

He said, "The Nollywood of today is not doing well because the young people are so lazy. They don't want to do research on that typical African story that you can tell to the world.

"Instead, they get an American story and try to adopt it in a very wrong way for Nigerians to see."

27 years after Domitilla, Ejiro recently released Domitilla: The Reboot which follows the story of sex workers caught in the web of a devious pimp.

The film made nearly ₦11 million in its opening weekend —the biggest opening of any Nollywood film in 2023 so far.

Domitilla: The Reboot stars Elvina Ibru, Onyinye Odokoro, Teniola Aladese, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Ejiro Onojaife, Stan Nze, Deyemi Okanlawon, and Chioma Okafor.