The Learner

The article was written by Muhsin Ibrahim & Habibu Ma'aruf for, and published by, the BBC Hausa service. Here is a link to a slightly different Hausa version published on their webpage:  Finafinan Kannywood mafiya shahara a 2021. We are yet again at the end of another year, 2021. Kannywood has seen so many good and bad events in the year. Prominent are; the demise of the veteran actress Zainab Booth and that of seasoned cameraman-cum-actor, Ahmad Aliyu Tage and Sani Garba SK. Also, a famous actress, Maryam Yahaya, suffered from a protracted illness; the conflicts between Adam Zango and his mentee, Ummi Rahab, and between Umma Shehu and the Kano State Hisba and some directors and the Kano censorship board. On the other hand, the industry has gotten a new cinema to screen its movies, and Netflix Naija contacted its stakeholder for a potential deal. Moreover, the rising stars; Garzali Miko, Zahra Diamond and Maryam Waziri have all tied the knot in the outgoing year. Despite the T....

Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com University of Cologne   The article was written for, and published by, the BBC Hausa service. Here is a link to a slightly different Hausa version published on their webpage:  Fina-finan Kannywood mafiya shahara a shekarar 2020. The year 2020 is unlike any other in recent history. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world. We now have lockdown in countries; we also have to keep social distancing, wear a facemask, among other protocols. The virus batters the entertainment industries from Los Angeles to Lagos, Mumbai to Mombasa, Cairo to Kano, forcing several cinemas to shut down. Thus, shooting and showing films had to stop. Nevertheless, that boosts TV and video on demand (VoD) content and opens a gate for new ‘genres’ of YouTube series and serials. In northern Nigeria, these include Kwana Casa’in , Gidan Badamasi , Labarina , Izzar So , A Duniya , Na Ladidi , among many others. Kannywood began the year auspiciously with a box-offi...

By Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com University of Cologne The article was written for, and published by, the BBC Hausa service. Here is a link to a slightly different Hausa version published on their webpage:  Fina-finan Kannywood 10 da suka shahara a 2019. The Hausa film industry alias Kannywood is still alive and, well, kicking. Perhaps known to many people, the industry’s survival is against many odds. Now and again, Kannywood is caught up in scandals. Prominent among them this year include the way politics divided it and brought sharp disunity among its members. Then, two leading actresses fought and the clip of the fight went viral; the arrest of a celebrated director, the sartorial choice of two more actresses invited them condemnations, insults and curses, among other incidents.   Copyright: @officialkannywood Admittedly, I did not watch some films that might be among the top 10 of 2019. I don’t live in Nigeria to go to the only functi...

Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com My book, Kannywood: Unveiling the Overlooked Hausa Film Industry , released early this week, was purposely titled so. For some socio-cultural and religious related reasons, many people that would ideally care about the embattled film industry snub it. Thus, Kannywood survives mainly in obscurity. Conversely, the recent scandals involving the famous actress, Hadiza Gabon and her colleague, Amina Amal over lesbianism allegation proved me slightly wrong. Moreover, as this rages on, the age-old feud between the ace actors, Ali Nuhu and Adam Zango  was taken to the next level. The former sued the latter for defamation and assassination of character. These topics dominate the northern Nigerian cyberspace all the more. Is Kannywood really “overlooked”? It’s indisputably true that the film industry and its members are ignored but, I believe, whenever they do ‘good’ or shun controversies and scandals. Once their scandals surface, everyone’...

By Muhsin Ibrahim The article was written for, and published by, the BBC Hausa service. Here is a link to a slightly different Hausa version published on their webpage:   Fina-finan Kannywood 10 da suka shahara a 2018 Kannywood film industry survives yet another year. Not only that, it prospers and produces films of various genres, chiefly comedy, romance and, scarcely, epic. They include Adam Zango’s offensively funny flick, Dan Kuka a Birni ; Ali Nuhu’s remake of his 2000 hit musical, Mujadala , among others. Kabiru Jammaje, the force behind the reincarnation of English language branch of Kannywood also sponsored another posh royal tale titled In Search of the King . Nafisa Abdullahi’s much-publicised movie, Yaki a Soyayya also seems promising. Thus, the year is well spent. The following movies were adjudged to be the best of the eventful year, which is, more or less, overshadowed by the build-up to Nigeria’s general election early next year. The politics forays i...

By Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com The article was written for and published by the BBC Hausa service. This is a link to a slightly different version, translated in Hausa, on their website: Fina-finan Kannywood 12 da suka shahara a 2017 . Despite several mounting challenges the Kannywood film industry faces, the chief of which is piracy, many films were produced in the outgoing year of 2017. These include, as one can guess, the very good, the good, the bad and the ugly. The year is not over yet, we, for that reason, expect the release of more films such as Juyin Sarauta, Sabon Dan Tijara , Dan Sarkin Agadaz , Mu Zuba Mu Gani , Dan Kuka a Birni, among others. Therefore, the following list is by no means exhaustive. There can be one, two or more deserving to be included in this category before the end of the year. Again, the list is not in any chronological order. There’s a Way It’s arguably the first Kannywood film in ‘Standard’ English. Produced by Kabiru...