Mrs. Amaka Igwe is one of Nollywood’s most respected directors. She spoke with VICTOR AKANDE on how the Federal Government should administer the intervention fund for the entertainment industry. Excerpts:
What is your opinion on the $200m Federal Government intervention fund?
It’s a brilliant initiative. Film making is a business, and I am glad the government recognises this fact. So, the intervention fund is a welcome development in the same way that they did for the agricultural sector, the textile industry and others. Film-making is not just a trade; it’s an industry.
But people like Ola Balogun are of the opinion that grant or film fund is more realistic than a loan…
Ola Balogun comes from a culture where funding for film is a way of life for the industry. But here in Nigeria, filmmaking is more commercial oriented. Funding of film projects is more for students or other film makers who make specialised films that address social and environment issues like ecology and what have you. But that is not to say grants are not good. Both are good. At least, such is also supposed to generate and increase activities in the film industry. But what we are doing right now in Nigeria is majorly commercial. The way the Nigerian film industry is structured is commercial. With time, grant issues will happen.
How realistic is return on investment under the present circumstances?
That’s where I have problem with intervention fund. Making a film that will guarantee return right now is difficult, because distribution is largely unorganised in a country where we have 82 per cent piracy. We are not distributing formally. Somebody makes a film in a country of about 168 million people and manages to sell just 20, 000; that’s not distribution. In American, for example, films are sold online for about 19 dollars. Even Ghanaian films sell better than our own films. I think the intervention fund should be geared more towards distribution of films. Censors Board has told us that onle 25, 000 of the video clubs in the country are registered. If truly they regulated these outlets and a film maker is able to make just N2, 000 from each outlet., multiply what he gets and see what we mean… If this happens, then a film maker does not even have to wait for intervention fund. All he needs is to go to the bank, show them the sales record, and get s a loan to do his next movie. How can 40 filmmakers make money from the few cinemas that we have in this country? Nothing can be done until we look at distribution. I am of the opinion that every state should identify the video clubs and regulate them. The issue of video clubs is on concurrent list.
What is your reaction to criticism trailing Tony Abulu as the first beneficiary of the NEXIM Bank loan, in view of the fact that he lives abroad?
I have a different opinion to that. He is a Nigerian. The only reservation I have with that arrangement is that it may not put money back into our economy as envisaged. This is because 70 per cent of that film is shot in New York. But come to think of it again, the money Tony Abulu got was not a grant; it’s a loan, and he is going to pay it back.
Gab Okoye is also pursuing the intervention fund loan to set up distribution outlets…
Fantastic! Those are the people thinking positively for this industry. This is not the question of whether the people who didn’t go to the university can’t make a film.
