Kannywood — northern Nigeria's Hausa-language film industry — is trying to expand beyond local markets while negotiating Sharia-based norms and state censorship. Filmmakers add English and Arabic subtitles and launch platforms such as Arewaflix to reach diasporas and regional viewers. However, piracy, the 2023 economic downturn and past platform failures like Northflix pose major monetization challenges.
Kannywood's Tightrope: Pushing Boundaries Between Censorship and Global Ambition
Northern Nigerian directors are hoping to tap into a vast potential market for their films (OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT)(OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT/AFP/AFP)
Long overshadowed by southern Nigeria's Nollywood, the northern film industry nicknamed "Kannywood" is quietly trying to expand its reach beyond national borders — even as it navigates religious conservatism, local censorship and economic pressures.
Background
Kannywood, centred on Kano State, reportedly produces as many as 200 films a month. With roughly 80 million Hausa speakers across West and Central Africa and a large Nigerian diaspora worldwide, the potential audience is substantial. Filmmakers hope better distribution and subtitling can turn local stories into regional and international hits.
Censorship, Culture And Constraints
Kano — the region's cultural hub — enforces Sharia law alongside common law, and a state film censorship board reviews music and cinema. Certain themes and depictions remain strictly banned: "nudity, sexual scenes, and content that is contrary to customs, traditions, and religion," Abba El-Mustapha, the Kano State Film Censorship Board executive secretary, has said. Creatives therefore must balance artistic ambition with local social expectations and legal limits.
Streaming, Piracy And Economics
New streaming initiatives aim to broaden audiences. Arewaflix, founded by producer Abdurrahman Muhammad Amart, plans to host Hausa films and titles in other northern languages (including Nupe and Kanuri) with subtitles in English, French and Arabic. Earlier projects such as Northflix closed in 2023 after failing to scale.
Monetizing content is difficult in Nigeria: widespread poverty, a national economic downturn since 2023 and weak platform security leave films vulnerable to piracy. "When a film is accessible to a hundred people on a platform with poor security, it can quickly be pirated and circulated everywhere," El-Mustapha warned.
Creativity And Strategy On Set
Directors like Kamilu Ibrahim are experimenting with stories and distribution to reach wider audiences. Ibrahim has added English and Arabic subtitles and introduced themes "not commonly seen in Hausa films" to engage new viewers while remaining within cultural boundaries.
"We are not used to seeing someone going out in pursuit of a dream without family consent," Ibrahim said, emphasizing film's role in spotlighting social issues.
Actors such as Adam Garba hope series like Wata Shida — which explores forced marriage and a marriage-of-convenience plot — will eventually appear on major streaming platforms; for now it is available on YouTube.
Looking Ahead
Directors argue that stronger production values and storytelling can overcome language barriers — pointing to Bollywood's popularity among Nigerian audiences despite language differences. For now, Kannywood continues to do more with less: resourceful crews shoot in challenging conditions, adapting their content and platforms to reach diasporas and regional viewers without alienating local audiences.
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