Del-York International teamed up with Kinopedia Ltd and the Departamento de Expansão Cultural da Secretaria de Cultura, Prefeitura de São Paulo to host the first Nollywood film festival in South America from 18th–27th November 2011. This milestone held at the Cine Olido in São Paulo, Brazil, which hosted a roundtable discussion featuring some of Nollywood’s most respected practitioners as well as showcased a retrospective of nine films by the award-winning director Tunde Kelani. Since the Festival marks the beginning of a multi-year cultural exchange with the government of Brazil, Del-York aims to inaugurate the partnership by celebrating the Yoruba heritage and traditions shared by both nations.

Tunde Kelani, a celebrated advocate of Yoruba culture, has long been considered to be one of Nigeria’s most accomplished filmmakers. His four-decade-long career started in the early 1970s as a television cameraman. When the devaluation of the Naira decreased filmmakers’ purchasing power, Kelani ceased his work as a cinematographer to direct and produce his own films on video format with the establishment of Mainframe Television and Movie Productions in 1992 – producing such beloved classics as “Saworoide” (1999) and “Thunderbolt: Magun” (2001).

In Kelani’s words: “The list of nine films selected for the Festival are important because the films are valuable not only to the Yorubas in the homeland, but especially to Yorubas in the Diaspora, who despite 200 years to 300 years of slave-trade, have remained true and close to the culture.”
According to the 2011 World Bank report, “The Untold Story of Growth & Employment Potential in Nigeria’s Entertainment Industry,” Nollywood has already demonstrated significant impact on poverty alleviation through the creation of jobs especially for the youth. However, one challenge to its continued growth is that the industry lacks a branding strategy to compete with other well-established industries on a global scale. As such, the “Bem-vindo a Nollywood” Film Festival will formally introduce Nigerian films to Brazilian audiences and contribute to establishing the industry on the international stage, thus growing Nollywood’s export potential and multiplying its ability to create employment.