ASABA, Nigeria — Sitting on a blue plastic stool in the sweltering heat, Ugezu J. Ugezu, one of Nigeria’s top filmmakers, was furiously rewriting his script as the cameras prepared to roll. “Cut!” he shouted after wrapping up a key scene, a confrontation between the two leading characters. Then, under his breath, he added, “Good as it gets.”

尼日利亚阿萨巴——酷热之下，尼日利亚顶尖的电影人尤格祖·J·尤格祖(Ugezu J. Ugezu)正坐在一张蓝色的塑料凳子上奋笔疾书，修改剧本。摄像机做好了开动的准备。“停！”他在一场关键的戏结束后喊道。那是两位主演的一场对手戏。之后，他又低声说，“还算不错。”

This was the seventh — and last — day of shooting in a village near here for “Beyond the Dance,” Mr. Ugezu’s story of an African prince’s choice of a bride, and the production had been conducted at a breakneck pace.

这是尤格祖执导的影片《舞蹈之外》(Beyond the Dance)在这附近的一个村庄取景拍摄的第七天，也是最后一天，这部电影的制作速度非常快。影片讲述的是一个非洲王子选择新娘的故事。

“In Nollywood, you don’t waste time,” he said. “It’s not the technical depth that has made our films so popular. It’s because of the story. We tell African stories.”

“在瑙莱坞，不能浪费时间，”他说。“让我们的电影大受欢迎的不是高深的技术，而是故事。我们讲的是非洲故事。”

The stories told by Nigeria’s booming film industry, known as Nollywood, have emerged as a cultural phenomenon across Africa, the vanguard of the country’s growing influence across the continent in music, comedy, fashion and even religion.

“瑙莱坞”(Nollywood)是尼日利亚蓬勃发展的电影工业的代称。这里讲述的故事，已经成了整个非洲的一种文化现象。尼日利亚在非洲大陆的音乐、喜剧、时尚乃至宗教领域的影响力日渐增强，而瑙莱坞电影则充当了先锋。

Nollywood generates about 2,500 movies a year, making it the second-biggest producer after Bollywood in India, and its films have displaced American, Indian and Chinese ones on the televisions that are ubiquitous in bars, hair salons, airport lounges and homes across Africa.

瑙莱坞一年的电影产量约为2500部，是仅次于印度宝莱坞(Bollywood)的第二大电影产地。在非洲各地的酒吧、发廊、机场候机厅和居民家中随处可见的电视上，瑙莱坞电影已经取代了美国、印度和中国的电影。

The industry employs a million people — second only to farming — in Nigeria, pumping $600 million annually into the national economy, according to a 2014 report by the United States International Trade Commission. In 2002, it made 400 movies and $45 million.

美国国际贸易委员会(United States International Trade Commission)在2014年发布的一份报告显示，尼日利亚电影业有100万从业人员——仅次于农业——每年会为国民经济贡献6亿美元。而2002年时，尼日利亚电影业的产量只有400部，收入也仅有4500万美元。

Nollywood resonates across Africa with its stories of a precolonial past and of a present caught between village life and urban modernity. The movies explore the tensions between the individual and extended families, between the draw of urban life and the pull of the village, between Christianity and traditional beliefs. For countless people, in a place long shaped by outsiders, Nollywood is redefining the African experience.

瑙莱坞凭借其讲述的故事在整个非洲引起了共鸣，如这片大陆在沦为殖民地之前的历史，以及当下夹在农村生活和城市现代化之间的体验。影片探究了个人与大家庭之间、城市生活的吸引力与农村生活的牵绊之间、基督教和传统信仰之间的冲突。这里长久以来一直被外来者左右，对于这里的许多人来说，瑙莱坞正在重新定义非洲的体验。

“I doubt that a white person, a European or American, can appreciate Nollywood movies the way an African can,” said Katsuva Ngoloma, a linguist at the University of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo who has written about Nollywood’s significance. “But Africans — the rich, the poor, everyone — will see themselves in those movies in one way or another.”

“我怀疑白人，不管是欧洲人还是美国人，无法像非洲人那样欣赏瑙莱坞的电影，”刚果民主共和国卢本巴希大学(University of Lubumbashi)语言学专家卡楚瓦·恩戈洛马(Katsuva Ngoloma)说。“但是非洲人，无论贫富贵贱，都会从这些电影里以某种方式看到自己的影子。”恩戈洛马曾撰文论述瑙莱坞的重要意义。

In Yeoville, a neighborhood in Johannesburg that is a melting pot for migrants, a seamstress from Ghana took orders one recent morning for the latest fashions seen in Nollywood movies. Hairstylists from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, working in salons or on the street, offered hair weaves following the styles favored by Nollywood actresses.

约翰内斯堡的约维尔(Yeoville)地区是移民的大熔炉。不久前的一天上午，一名来自加纳的女裁缝接到订单，要缝制瑙莱坞电影里出现的最新服饰。来自民主刚果、莫桑比克和津巴布韦的发型师，不管是在店里还是在街头工作的，都会按照瑙莱坞女演员喜欢的发型给顾客做头发。

“Nigerian movies express how we live as Africans, what we experience in our everyday lives, things like witchcraft, things like fighting between mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws,” said Patience Moyo, 34, a Zimbabwean hair-braider. “When you watch the movies, you feel it is really happening. One way or another, it will touch your life somewhere.”

“尼日利亚的电影表现的是我们非洲人的生活方式，我们在日常生活中的经历，比如巫术和婆媳大战等，”34岁的津巴布韦籍辫发师佩兴丝·莫约(Patience Moyo)说。“看电影的时候，你会觉得电影里发生的是真事。不管怎样，总会触及你生活的某个地方。”

Back in 2002, the movies were simply known as Nigeria’s home videos. They were popularized at first through video cassettes traded across Africa, but now Nollywood is available on satellite and cable television channels, as well as on streaming services like iRokoTV. In 2012, in response to swelling popularity in Francophone Africa, a satellite channel called Nollywood TV began offering round-the-clock movies dubbed into French. Most Nollywood movies are in English, though some are in one of Nigeria’s main ethnic languages.

在2002年，瑙莱坞的电影还只能叫做尼日利亚家庭录像。它们最初是通过在非洲各地都能买到的录像带流行起来的。但现在，在卫星和有线电视频道，以及iRokoTV等流媒体服务平台上，均能看到瑙莱坞的影片。2012年，为回应瑙莱坞电影在非洲法语地区大受欢迎的局面，一个名叫瑙莱坞电视(Nollywood TV)的卫星频道，开始全天播放法语配音的电影。瑙莱坞电影大多使用英语，不过也有一些影片用尼日利亚主要的民族语言。

Until Nollywood’s ascendance, movies made in Francophone Africa — with grants from the French government — dominated filmmaking on the continent. But these movies catered to the sensibilities of Western critics and viewers, and won few fans in Africa, leaving no cultural footprint.

在瑙莱坞崛起之前，非洲法语国家摄制的电影，把持着这片大陆上的电影业。但这些靠法国政府的经费拍摄的影片，迎合的是西方影评人和观众的感情，在非洲几乎没有影迷，也没有留下文化印记。

In Nollywood, though, movies are still financed by private investors expecting a profit.

但在瑙莱坞，电影制作的资金依然来自希望赚到钱的私人投资者。

“You want to do a movie? You have the script? You look immediately for the money and you shoot,” said Mahmood Ali-Balogun, a leading Nigerian filmmaker. “When you get a grant from France or the E.U., they can dictate to you where to put your camera, the fine-tuning of your script. It’s not a good model for us in Africa.”

“想拍电影？剧本有了？马上就能筹集资金开拍，”尼日利亚知名电影人马哈茂德·阿里-巴洛贡(Mahmood Ali-Balogun)说。“要是用法国和欧盟的拨款，它们会规定摄像机的位置，还会改剧本。对我们这些在非洲的人来说，这种模式不好。”

Mr. Ali-Balogun was speaking from his office in Surulere, Lagos, the birthplace of Nollywood. Film production has since moved to other cities, especially Asaba, an otherwise sleepy state capital in southeastern Nigeria. On any given day, a dozen crews can be found here — “epic” films with ancient story lines like “Beyond the Dance” are in the works in nearby villages, while “glamour” movies about modern life make the city itself their sets.

阿里-巴洛贡是在他位于拉各斯苏鲁里尔(Surulere)的办公室接受采访的。这里是瑙莱坞的诞生地。如今，电影制作已转移至其他城市，特别是阿萨巴。如果没有电影业，位于尼日利亚东南部的阿萨巴就只是一个宁静的州首府。任何一天，都能在这里看到几十个剧组。像《舞蹈之外》这种有古代故事情节的“史诗”片，要在附近村子里的制片厂摄制，而讲述现代生活的“时髦”片则把城市本身当作布景。

One recent entry in the glamour category was “Okada 50,” the story of a woman and son who, after leaving their village, open a coffin business in the city and terrorize their neighbors.

最近有一部时髦片叫《奥卡达50》(Okada 50)，讲的是一对母子离开他们生活的村子，在城里开了一家棺材店，并因此吓着了周围邻居的故事。

Most films have budgets of about $25,000 and are shot in a week.

大部分电影的预算都在2.5万美元左右，在一周之内完成拍摄。

Once completed in Asaba, the movies find their way to every corner of Africa, released in the original English, dubbed into French or African languages, and sometimes readapted, repackaged and often pirated for local audiences. Many movies are also propelled by a symbiotic relationship with Nigeria’s Pentecostal Christianity, which pastors have exported throughout Africa.

在阿萨巴一完成制作，电影便会进入非洲的各个角落。英语原声的电影会被配音成法语或非洲语言。有时候，影片还会针对当地观众进行重新改编和重新包装，这些通常都是盗版。由于牧师们已经将尼日利亚的基督教五旬节派(Pentecostal Christianity)传播到了整个非洲，许多电影也因为与该教派相辅相成的关系，而得到了推动。

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, pastors who visited Nigeria years ago returned with videocassettes and showed the films in church to teach Christian lessons and attract new members, said Katrien Pype, a Belgian anthropologist at the University of Leuven who has written about the phenomenon.

鲁汶大学(University of Leuven)的比利时人类学家卡特林·派珀(Katrien Pype)称，在民主刚果，多年前来到尼日利亚的牧师，回国时带了很多录像带，为了教授基督教课程和吸引新信徒，而在教堂里放映电影。派珀曾撰文介绍过这一现象。

Today in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, Nollywood permeates mainstream culture. Local women copy the fashion, makeup and hairstyles of the actresses; local musicians grumble at the popularity of Nigerian imports, like Don Jazzy and the P-Square twins.

如今在民主刚果的首都金沙萨，瑙莱坞全面影响着主流文化。当地的女性会效仿女演员的服饰、妆容和发型。当地的音乐人会抱怨从尼日利亚输入的音乐人太受欢迎，如唐·杰西(Don Jazzy)和双胞胎组合P-Square。

Trésor Baka, a Congolese dubber who translates Nollywood movies into the local language, Lingala, said the films are popular because “Nigeria has succeeded in reconciling modernity and their ancient ways, their culture and traditions.”

把瑙莱坞电影翻译成民主刚果当地语言林加拉语的配音演员特勒索·巴卡(Trésor Baka)表示，瑙莱坞电影受欢迎是因为，“尼日利亚成功地把现代化和他们的古老历史、文化和传统融为了一体”。