10: EVALUATING CONTINUITY IN DISCONTINUITY WITHIN CONTEMPORARY NOLLYWOOD FILM AESTHETICS USING LIONHEART AND THE WEDDING PARTY

This study examines the aesthetic and narrative significance of discontinuity within continuity in colour grading practices in contemporary Nollywood cinema, using The Wedding Party (2016) and Lionheart (2018) as case studies. Against the backdrop of Nollywood’s transition from a low-budget home-video industry to a globally competitive cinematic culture, the paper situates colour grading as a crucial visual storytelling device rather than a purely technical post-production process. Drawing on Roland Barthes’ semiotic theory and close textual analysis, the research investigates how deliberate and accidental colour discontinuities function as signs that shape emotional perception, character psychology, and narrative meaning. The study adopts a qualitative film analysis methodology, focusing on selected scenes where shifts in colour palette, saturation, lighting, and tonal balance either reinforce or disrupt narrative continuity. Findings reveal that while The Wedding Party employs frequent and sometimes unstable colour shifts that produce expressive but visually fragmented experiences, Lionheart demonstrates a more controlled and consistent colour grading strategy that reinforces themes of stability, cultural continuity, and familial legacy. These contrasting approaches illustrate Nollywood’s evolving engagement with global cinematic standards and its ongoing struggle to balance spectacle, symbolism, and technical precision. The paper argues that discontinuity in continuity colour grading, when intentionally deployed, enhances narrative depth and emotional resonance; however, when uncontrolled, it risks weakening visual coherence and audience immersion. By foregrounding colour grading as an aesthetic language in Nigerian cinema, this study contributes to emerging scholarship on Nollywood’s visual style, post-production practices, and its negotiation of local cultural identity within global film aesthetics.