The Learner

  Top 7 Kannywood Series of 2024   By Habibu Maaruf Abdu For the Kannywood film industry, 2024 has been a remarkable year filled with unprecedented achievements and historic milestones. These include Ali Nuhu’s appointment as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation and Rahama Sadau becoming part of the federal government’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprise Program (iDICE). However, while the year was marred by the losses of veteran actress Saratu Gidado (Daso) and singer El-Muaz Birniwa, it also witnessed the emergence of fresh talent and a notable improvement in film quality. Big-budget productions like  Nanjala  and  Mai Martaba  achieved significant feats;  Nanjala  debuted in Turkey and the United States, and  Mai Martaba was selected as Nigeria’s official entry for the 97th Academy Awards. Moreover, Sadau’s film  Mamah  was screened at the prestigious Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia. Interesting...

By  Muhsin Ibrahim & Habibu Ma’aruf muhsin2008@gmail.com As 2023 draws to a close, the closure of Kano Filmhouse Cinema is one of Kannywood’s most regrettable events in the outgoing year. Consequently, there was a significant decline in the number of cinematic releases. Nevertheless, amid this setback, a silver lining emerged as it spurred a notable shift towards series films, with prominent producers and directors venturing into the evolving market. From  Labarina ,  Alaqa , and  Manyan Mata  to  Fatake ,  Amaryar Tiktok  and  Gidan Sarauta , Kannywood’s audience has been captivated by numerous enthralling TV and web series. While the series market faces criticism for potentially fostering second-rate productions, the following list highlights the best seven series films aired in the year. Please note that the numbering is not hierarchical.  1. Labarina Labarina  stands out as a household name among Hausa film enthusiasts. Desp...

Actors Beyond the Screen: A Tale of Two Film Industries By Muhsin Ibrahim Many people find it difficult to distinguish between fiction and reality. Therefore, they mistakenly assume an actor's role is their actual behaviour outside the fictional world of a particular film. Some also think their beauty on camera is the same as off the camera, and hold several other presumptions. I saw posts where (Hausa) ladies declared their love for Korean film actors and K-pop stars. But, unknown to them, those actors don't only wear heavy makeup, but some have also had plastic surgeries to enhance their looks. South Koreans are obsessed with their looks and go to great lengths to look exceptionally gorgeous. However, beyond the look, fame and fortune, many of these celebrities go through a lot in their lives. One of them, Moonbin, 25, died in an apparent suicide scenario last night. BBC reports that South Korea has the highest rate of suicide among developed countries. Most of the victims a...

By Muhsin Ibrahim Hadiza Gabon is in the spotlight today. I find most of the criticisms of  Gabon's Room Talk Show  amusing for three reasons. As you know, Rakiya Moussa, as a guest, emotionally shed tears when talking about her unrequited love experience. Some critics  blamed the presenter, Hadiza, for that. 1. Some of these critics don't know better about journalism ethics than Hadiza because they aren't journalists and have little or nothing to do with the profession. We just love bashing Kannywood people. They don't know how to do anything! 2. Talk shows like that don't have cut-and-dried rules. Gabon is a big fan of Ellen DeGeneres and her popular show. You don't have to be a journalist to host a programme like this. It's almost the same pattern globally. 3. The Internet has radically deregulated journalism and changed the entertainment industries and cultural production. Thus, even if there were rules guiding talk shows like Gabon's, she is free to...

Habibu Ma'aruf habibumaaruf11@gmail.com   The year 2022 has not been great for the Kannywood film industry. There was a substantial decline in feature film production as the popularity of series films soared, piquing the interest of more producers. Cinematic releases were at a premium throughout the year, with just nine films, making it a ratio of less than one release a month. The situation was so severe that no major production was shown at cinemas, even during the Eid ul-Fitr festivities. However, while some of the few releases fell flat on their faces, others have managed to make it in the trying year. Find below the top 5 Kannywood films of 2022. Please note that only feature films were considered for this list. Aisha Directed by Hafizu Bello, the movie, Aisha , is critically and commercially successful. It beats Kayi Nayi (Dir, Gumzak 2021) to become Kannywood’s biggest grosser by earning over ₦5.5 million during its elongated run in two cinemas. This is not su...

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 The maxim that says “actors and scandals are cousins” cannot be more accurate if one looks at the northern Nigerian-based Hausa film industry, Kannywood. This is the third of the series I started a couple of years ago. I have, of course, skipped writing about several other scandals for one reason or another. However, the ongoing ones are too prominent to escape my radar. Therefore, I will write about only two. The first one is a bolt from the blue. The conflict between the multitalented Kannywood actor Adam A. Zango and the up-and-coming actress, Ummi Rahab shocks followers of the film industry. Ms Rahab was Zango’s mentee about a decade ago. She was a child actor when Zango and Jamila Nagudu featured as her parents in a movie titled Ummi . The girl disappeared soon after the film. Why that happened remains a subject of debate, and it’s not the concern here.   A decade later, Ummi Rahab, now a gorgeous young lady, resurfaced in 2021. Her former...

By  Muhsin Ibrahim muhsin2008@gmail.com Nigeria’s diversity cuts across many things, chiefly cultures, ethnicities, religions and regions. Although several commentators consider the northern part more Islamic and the southern one more Christian, Muslims and Christians, followers of traditional belief systems and non-religious folks may be seen everywhere. Due to these complexities, the country is home to two significant film industries – Kannywood and Nollywood – with many smaller ones operating under these brands. Kannywood , the name given to the “local” Hausa film industry with Kano State as its epicentre, is a distinct and autonomous film industry in northern Nigeria.   Nollywood   has its root s  in the South, has mainly Christianity and Western-influenced motifs as themes and produces films primarily in English or other southern Nigerian languages. For Kannywood, however, Islam is arguably the trademark, and the East remains their vital source of influence ...

The following is my interview with the Blueprint newspaper (Nigeria) on writing, reading and related issues. You may see it on their website or the print edition of 30.01.2021, page 25. Thank you. How did your amity with writing start? What triggered it? Writing is, often, a result of reading. I started reading novels by, usually, Nigerian authors in 1999. However, I wondered why couldn’t I find books by northern Nigerian writers? There were only a very few of them such as Zaynab Alkali ( The Stillborn , The Virtuous Woman , etc.), Muhammad Sule ( The Undesirable Element ) and Auwal Yusuf Hamza ( Love Path ) in the market or the one I went to. I vowed to become a writer to tell our stories.   How was it honed? You hone your writing skills by reading and practising writing. I think there is no other better way. I read a lot, mostly when I was younger; when I had less engagement and responsibilities. I didn’t have any specific favourite genre. I read almost whatever came my...

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...

  On the Final Episode of Kwana Casa’in (Season 4)   Filmmakers famously announce that “it’s a wrap” after the last camera roll on the final shooting day. It gives them, and of course, the entire actors and actresses present, an immense sense of relief. Naturally, humans want to rest and become excited when they reach the point of getting it. But, that’s the point when the post-production team and subsequently the audience begin their work – of reading the work in their way. The “wrap” always leaves many holes unfilled. Although Kwana Casa’in is, unarguably, the most expensive and expansive Hausa drama yet, the final episode of season four, aired yesterday (27.12.2020), leaves much to be desired. Hence, I felt the need to quickly write this brief ‘review’ in addition to the one I wrote in July 2019.  So much has happened between then (season one) and now (season four). But, there is no need to narrate the story as I believe most of my readers follow the series. ...

  Nollywood Movie Review: VOICELESS   Director: Robert O. Peters Producer: Rogers Ofime Company: Native Media Writer: Jennifer Agunloye Year: November 18, 2020 Cast: Asabe Madaki, Yakubu Muhammad, Sani Muazu, Uzee Usman, Abba Zaki, Rakiya Atta, introducing Adam Garba, others.    Indisputable, only a few Kannywood productions attract the attention of the audience these days. Although the dialogue track and the actors in Voiceless are Hausa, the film does not belong to Kannywood. The movie, on the one hand, mounts a frigging assault, on the other hand, a serious challenge, to Kannywood. Though it’s unfair to match the glory of Nollywood and that of Kannywood, I can feel it in my bones that they must envy Nollywood for punching them and knocking their teeth out by producing the first wholly Hausa film that is now sold to Netflix. Here’s my review of the film.   Voiceless is an insurgency-inspired romantic-thriller motivated by the infamous ...