It has stars to rival Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard and Mumbai's Juhu Beach. But the tabloid tracking the every move of Nigeria's"Nollywood" actors isn't in Nigeria, or even Africa- it's in Queens.
For the past two years, Nigerian-born journalist Ekerete Udoh has run the Diasporan Star - the only paper covering Nollywood outside ofAfrica - from his home in St. Albans, distributing it tothousands of readers in cities across the country.
"We're like the National Enquirer, the US Magazine and the Magazine"">People Magazine of Nollywood combined," Udoh said of thepaper.
Nollywood surpassed Hollywood as the world's second largest movie industry in 2006 (India's Bollywoodoutpaces both, producing some 1,000 titles annually). But itscross-cultural appeal has recently become apparent in NewYork, where superstores in the Bronxand Brooklyn sell thousands of DVDs aweek.
Now the films - long preferred by African and Caribbean immigrants - are enjoying an explosion of popularity among a diverseaudience in Queens. New releases are sold in salons, groceries andbodegas across the borough.
Since March, the blockbusters can even be found at six branches of the Queens Library, though you might have a hard time getting your handson one.
"They don't stay on our shelves," said Patricia Eshun, the Rosedale branch manager.
Fans say the films - often serialized love stories or family dramas - are highly addictive. Many female viewers first see the movies at thesalon, where hairdressers play them back-to-back during long hairappointments.
"You're doing your hair for seven or eight hours, you get hooked." said Dominique Lewis, 48, a legal assistant whotraveled from Brooklyn to pick up a film called "Virginity" at the Jamaica bus depot. Like many, she saidshe has several dozen Nollywood DVDs at home.
"My kids made fun of me [saying]: 'Mom, do you do anything else?'" she said.
Part of the appeal is the price: $4 to $7 buys two or three hours of heart-wrenching drama. Releasing a single film across two or three DVDsalso keeps customers coming back.
"I sell American movies, but not a lot," said Tass Sacko, who owns a Nollywood movie store on Jamaica Ave. "The original American movies areexpensive."
But Udoh said the films also present an alternative view of Africa, one that viewers are eager to explore.
"Above all, I think Nollywood has done a lot to rebrand Africa," he said. "A lot of people had the notion that Africans were still living intheir mud houses - they are shocked when they see places that look likeManhattan,and they can't believe that that is in Africa."
