South African photographer Pieter Hugo was first introduced to Nollywood films while working on Hyena and Other Men. Fascinated by the quick pace despite its elaborate and melodramatic narratives, Hugo sought to create a series that straddled the line between documentary and fiction. He worked with whichever actors were available, in full make up and costume, posing them on any free set. These elaborate tableaux document the extravagance of Nollywood while subverting traditional Western representations of Africa. In Hugo’s own words, ‘What made this approach more powerful was the fact that the people I was portraying in stereotypical roles were actors, who were being paid to be somebody else.’