The Nigerian film industry, known by many as “Nollywood”, has a unique, beautiful, and complicated history. As the second-largest film industry in the world, producing hundreds of films per year, the lo-fi, and drama-filled films are adored by people all over the world. In addition to the cinematic style of the films and their myriad of plot lines and genres, many Nollywood films come with an enormous amount of women’s empowerment, wisdom, emotional depth, and tell Nigerian stories like nowhere else.
Theodora Imaan Beauvais is a musician, artist, model, and curator of Nollywood films. Started in 2018 as a meme page and personal diary, their project yungnollywood is a love letter to Nollywood. Through vignettes of the films themselves, carefully curated on their instagram page and printed on bags and mugs, Beauvais keeps Nollywood’s creativity and cultural significance alive through a virtual community of over 100k people.
yungnollywood’s fans are all over the world, with a huge following across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria. They also have a podcast (Spice Station), and a film club for anyone who wants to get more involved with expanding and preserving Nollywood culture.
Our Editor in Chief asked Beauvais a few questions about her love of Nigerian films and how Nollywood helped her stay connected to her identity as a young person moving from Nigeria to Canada. We love how she uses quirky, cheeky, and sometimes mischievous scenes from Nollywood films to create a community to help people feel connected to their home country, find a little humor in their mental health journey, and to remind us all how to be a fabulous main character.
What sparked your love for Nigerian films?
I grew up in a protective household so television was my way of exploring the world while I was sheltered. When I was 9, my aunt Mary spent a summer taking care of us and she would take me or send me to the market near my estate to rent home videos (what Nigerian films were called back then) from different video kiosks. That was my first taste of freedom in connection to responsibility and that was the same summer I watched Girl’s Cot, a movie which really is about the freedom of choice.
yungnollywood started as a meme page and personal diary in 2018. Did you think you'd still be working on this project so many years later?
I feel like as long as I have something to share the brand will always exist.
How has the response to yungnollywood (blowing up) affected you as a curator and a person?
yungnollywood is something I created while I was surviving depression, so it’s really shown me what I am capable of in a dark space.
You're well versed on the history of Nigerian films and Nollywood. How do you think the film genre has evolved since it started?
There’s so much growth, especially from the actresses I grew up watching. You can tell there’s more investment in terms of funding. In general, you can always tell when there’s passion in a film regardless of the time.
Where is Nollywood right now? Where do you see it going?
Nollywood is in a great space as long as we believe in filmmakers that care about the craft.
What are some of the messages that Nollywood films share that you think are important for people to know?
Probably the opposite of what the films tell us actually, but yungnollywood’s message is that selfish women do have happy endings.
What is your favorite thing about sharing Nollywood scenes with so many fans and newcomers to the genre?
Making my culture a part of pop culture and expanding my agenda.
Where can someone new to the Nigerian film culture go to watch Nollywood?
YouTube! I also have a film library of my personal collection for the yungnollywood patreon subscribers to borrow.
Can you recommend some of your favorite films?
Girl’s Cot
Glamour Girls
Keeping Faith
The Orange Seller
Games Women Play
