Why I Took A Break From Nollywood – Ivie Okujaye

Ivie Okujaiye

Nollywood actress Ivie Okujaye has revealed why she took a break from acting. She recently opened up about the realities of being a woman in Nollywood and the challenges of motherhood.

According to her, she took a break from the Nigerian movie industry to focus on her family, and she is very pleased with her decision.

Ivie added that motherhood has taught her patience and how to be more strategic in her thinking.

Her words, “I have basically experienced a lot of the industry, and it has been beautiful.

I wanted to have my kids at a relatively young age, and I’m happy I made the decision. I have learnt patience, how to handle humans, and how to be more strategic in my thinking.

Social media was determining who was getting work. I didn’t realise YouTube was taking over.

I actually have no idea how I got the role… I was just chilling the day James Omokwe called me to tell me that the first time he and the executive producer discussed the actress to play the lead, my name was what everyone mentioned at the same time.

The major challenge women in Nollywood have is different across age groups. Women in their 20s and 30s don’t have many struggles in terms of relevance, but they still face challenges with opportunities. I’m happy the industry is at a point where anyone can create a space for themselves, not like before when marketers were needed.

For women transitioning from their late 20s to their late 40s, I would say viewers are a bit harsh on them. There is an unrealistic expectation, like saying someone in her 40s is getting old, and you see things like age shaming and body shaming. It’s almost like women are not allowed to age, and it’s unfair.”

WOW.

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.