The Mount Zion Legacy and Everything In Between

If you grew up in the 1990s, chances are you are conversant with the name ‘Mount Zion.’ The drama powerhouse with hundreds of hit titles to its name and classic movies has kept the African continent on lock.

One can easily say that Mount Zion Production is one of the most effective evangelism tools that the nation has ever seen. They stood as a pivotal monument in the Nigerian movie industry during Nollywood’s golden era.

Classic movies like 1993’s ‘Agbara Nla’ (Mighty Power), 1994’s ‘Power Encounter’, 1995’s ‘Attacks from Home,’ 1997’s ‘Blood Covenant,’ and 1998’s ‘Just a Little Sin’ show the consistency in bringing compelling faith-based movies to the Nigerian home.

Time will fail me to speak of 2000’s megahit ‘The gods Are Dead,’ or 2001’s ‘Apoti Eri’ (Covenant Child) and 2003 ‘Enemy of My Soul,’ 2005’s ‘Blood on the Alter’, and 2009’s campus-based ‘Fiwajomi.’

This endless nostalgia-filled title tells a tale of how a theatrical mastermind (Evang. Mike Bamiloye) wrote, directed, and produced contemporary and compelling stories.

Playing in the background as I write this article is Evang. Gloria Bamiloye’s heartfelt rendition of the classic song — ‘Esu to ba gbe mi’ — The defacto soundtrack from the 1998 movie ‘Just a Little Sin.’

Watching this performance almost three decades later, it is reminiscent of Loren Allred’s ‘Never Enough’ from ‘The Greatest Showman’. High-pitched, emotion-filled, and earnestly delivered to a spellbound audience.

The only indigenous movie production brand with a similar cultural impact that comes to mind is Wale Adenuga Production (WAP). However, while WAP exploited the magazine and subsequently serialized television avenues, Mount Zion exploited the home video era of Nigerian cinema. Also, WAP focused on sharing general life stories and lessons, and Mount Zion’s mission was clearly faith-based.

The Mount Zion DNA

In its 35 years of existence, Mount Zion has built a distinct and easily identifiable character. This is most evident in the mannerisms and mode of delivery. As a faith-based drama ministry, there were many things that traditional Nollywood indulged in that were off the table for Mount Zion Films.

As a drama ministry instituted in 1985, it is no surprise to notice the DNA of the Scripture Union (S.U.) movement in their productions. There was a lot of ‘Brother’ and ‘Sister’ among couples, melodramatic acting reminiscent of their stage drama background.

There were words they could not say and behaviors they could not engage in for the sake of acting. Even their ‘bad gangs’ were not as risqué as what was obtainable in Nollywood at the time. The fact that most of the production team were married to one another also limited the Public Display of Affection (PDA) for onscreen couples.

While movies like ‘Karishika’ and ‘Living in Bondage’ had strong spiritual undertones, they still looked and sounded like Nollywood. Other productions like Domitila, Glamour Girls, and ‘Igodo’ were more experimental and provocative.

This made Mount Zion a worthy, family-friendly option, especially for audiences with Christian values. It is also worthy of note that Nigerians were more religious and conservative.

Transgenerational Mount Zion

In over three decades of existence, the Mount Zion Production has achieved what most indigenous studios and companies have been unable to attain. Three things stand out in the legacy of this cultural monument:

Inspiration

Countless people could trace their interest in acting, music, and other creative expression to the Mount Zion production. The late 2000s was a special time in the creative industry, as the people who genuinely loved their craft followed through on their dreams, despite the meager pay.

One could trace the emergence of the ‘Alfa Sule’ movie troupe in the late 2000s to the Mount Zion influence. Mount Zion production brought to the fore the importance of drama groups in churches. An influence that keeps speaking to date.

Incubation

The production company has seen many founding members break out to begin their production ministries. Countless actors cut their teeth in this production team and have gone ahead to do great things.

Transgenerational

This is probably the most important achievement of the Mount Zion Production team. The ability for Evang. Mike Bamiloye to step back from active production for the next generation to seamlessly takeover is a rare achievement in Nigeria. Even better is the ability of Damilola and Joshua Mike-Bamiloye to rise to the occasion, elevate the quality of production, and leverage technology, bringing it to a new audience.

This is no wonder recent titles like Abattoir (in its 4th season), Abejoye (In its 6th season), and the 2023 biopic Enoch (with over 3.3 million views in 8 months) have proved successful with the new generation.

By Conscripting new faces, diversifying the content, and involving notable family members, the Mike-Bamiloye boys have shown that Mount Zion is well-positioned to service a new generation. One could say that this ability for rapid learning and reinvention was desperately needed in the transition of the Alfa Sule dance drama ministry group.

As the world gravitates to the Nigerian entertainment industry, many questions linger in my mind as an entertainment aficionado.

What does faith-based content look like in the future? What strategic positions would faith-based organizations take in the creative industry? What is the balance between conservative and progressive? How prepared are faith-based organizations for partnerships with global Streamers (Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+) and international investments?

Lastly, and most importantly. In a world where entertainment is used as an effective driver for ideologies, where do faith-based creators come in?

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