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Tag: Film Corporation

  • MRS LALONG, SENATORS, OTHERS LAUD FILM CORPORATION AS AGENCY COMMISSIONS STUDENTS’ FACILITIES

    MRS LALONG, SENATORS, OTHERS LAUD FILM CORPORATION AS AGENCY COMMISSIONS STUDENTS’ FACILITIES

    IT was a landmark occasion, graced by policy makers in Jos, Plateau State on Thursday, as the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), commissioned two ultra-modern halls of residence for students of the Nigerian Film Institute and Media Arts Studies at Lamingo, the permanent site of the film agency.

    The buildings, namely Regina Lalong Female Hall of Residence and Brendan Shehu Hall of Residence have been named after the First Lady of Plateau State and former Managing Director of the NFC respectively.

    Sitting on an expanse of 168 hectares, the work-in-progress site is expected to house the film school and the agency’s headquarters, as part of its long term development plan.

    Present at the event were the, Chairman House Committee on Information,  Hon Olusegun Odebunmi; Chairman, Senate Committee on National Orientation and Information, Senator Suleiman Adokwe, wife of the governor of Plateau state, Mrs Regina Lalong who is famous for promoting the girl-child education; wife of the Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly Mrs Esther Azi; Executive Director, Programmes, NTA, Mr Wole Coker who represented the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed , and the National President of Radio Television Theatre and Art Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU), Mr. Kabiru Garba Sani, among other dignitaries.

    Described as ‘man on the move’, the ovation was loud for Managing Director of the NFC, Dr Maduekwe, who appeared to have hit the ground running since assuming office few months back.

    Maduekwe who is also Chairman, Governing Council of the NFI, described the occasion as a watershed in the history of the Corporation, saying that the facilities will mitigate against the flight abroad, of Nigerian youths seeking film education outside the country.

    He said the feat being celebrated came about because some people and institutions believed in the vision of the agency and showed immeasurable support, including the state government that provided the 168 hectares of land for the permanent site.

    Maduekwe also commended his predecessors for the foundations they put in place, notable among them, Mr Brendan Shehu, the pioneer and longest serving helmsman of the film corporation.

    The NFC boss noted that, it is in sustaining the memory of Shehu that the male hall of residence was named after him.

    He however appealed to the members of the National Assembly present, for more budgetary allocations, saying “our vision is big, in making the school a reference film university in Nigeria.”

    The applause was thunderous from students and staff of the film school who have long desired progressive change for their institution.

    The accolade continued as Mr. Shehu was introduced as the visioner whose blue print for the film corporation and film institute was being actualised at the occasion.

    Shehu and Mrs Lalong were thus presented with awards of recognition before the latter proceeded to cut the tape for the two facilities amidst pomp.

    Speaking at the event, Mrs Lalong said she was dedicating the award to women, children and good people of Plateau Statue, assuring the management of the NFC that soon, in line with their desire, another female hostel will be commissioned. She noted that the project was an indication that the management has the interest of the welfare of the students at heart.

    Mrs Lalong expressed appreciation on behalf of herself and Shehu for the gesture which she said will ginger them to do more, while encouraging the students to use the facilities well.

    While Shehu asked that students and staff keep supporting the new MD whom he said has a lot of positive ideas, Odebunmi and Adokwe expressed concern for the transition of the NFC to a Film Commission, assuring that the bill which is currently with the National Assembly is being given priority.

  • Film Corporation seeks zonal office, film school in Calabar

    Film Corporation seeks zonal office, film school in Calabar

    As part of his efforts to reposition the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) as driver of the creative economy, new Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe may have secured the support of Cross River State Government for an office space and film school site in Calabar.

    “Everything you ask, we’ll provide,” says Cross River State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr. Eric Anderson, on behalf of Governor Ben Ayade, to Maduekwe’s desire for an NFC office and space for crash film programme in the South-South zone.

    The Corporation had also sought to revive the popular Studio Tinapa, and the need to open up the beautiful landscapes the state has for movie productions.

    Maduekwe who was speaking on the topic: “Need for Fresh Impetus in Job Creation through Motion Picture Production”, at the maiden edition of NFC Zonal Stakeholders’ Interactive Forum in Calabar, last Friday, posited that under the current President Muhammadu Buhari-led government’s economic diversification agenda and economic recovery plan, the film industry was set to contribute 10 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    He said: “At the last re-basement of the country’s economy, it was an empirical fact that Nollywood added more than 1.4% to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product or $7.2bn to Nigeria’s economy; making it possible for it to emerge as the biggest economy on the continent of Africa.”

    Agreeing to an office space for the NFC operations in the zone, the Commissioner however urged NFC to make funds for the industry accessible by all, so that the industry can be more productive as envisaged. He also called on the Corporation to find ways of bringing peace to warring guilds and associations in the film industry.

    Earlier, Chairperson of Cross River State chapter of Association of Movie Producers, Agnes Williams, identified lack of access to funds as one of the major issues the film industry in the state was faced with, while the Director General of Callywood, Egor Effiok encouraged originality in all movie contents from Nigeria, saying they represent uniqueness in the continent.

    -Obaji Abung-Akpet writes from Calabar

  • Filmmakers to attain mni, as Film Corporation partners NIPSS

    Filmmakers to attain mni, as Film Corporation partners NIPSS

    As part of his drive to reverence the business of filmmaking in Nigeria, newly appointed Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), Dr. Chidia Maduekwe, has entered a partnership that will enlist filmmakers into the country’s policy formation cadre.

    Maduekwe, who disclosed this to newsmen, explained that the partnership, which is between the NFC and National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, will earn motion picture practitioners’ nominations for its annual senior course programme, designed to empower participants on government’s critical development policies and implementation strategies.

    The NIPSS is a policy formation center for bureaucrats, private sector leaders, Army officers, and medium-rank and senior civil servants. Most policymakers in Nigeria have attended the NIPSS; including former Nigerian Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida; former Director General of Nigeria Policy Study, Comrade Ajayi Olusegun, and anti-corruption campaigner, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

    The agreement was reached during a courtesy visit by the NFC boss to the Acting Director General of NIPSS, Mr. Jonathan Mela Juma on Friday, May 26, 2017.

    A release signed by Head, Public Affairs of the NFC, Mr. Brian Etuk, stated that, “As part of the decisions of the two federal government institutions, a Think-Tank National Conference on Nigeria’s Creative Industry has been scheduled to hold in the third quarter of the year.”

    Etuk said participants at the conference to be jointly organised by NFC and NIPSS, which will hold at the latter’s institute in Jos, will be drawn from motion picture practitioners, scholars, researchers, relevant government and private institutions.

    “The conference will provide government and other stakeholders, the opportunity and platform to design the national policy frame work for the sustainable development of the sector and bring it to par and even surpass other creative economies.”

    Juma, in his presentation, was said to have acknowledged that the Nigerian creative industry, especially the motion picture sector has the capacity to change the narratives on Nigeria which has been classified as the single and fastest growing economy in Africa.

    “Nigeria’s portraiture as a nation of hardworking and enterprising people should be promoted using the film medium,” he said, adding that “Motion picture production activities should be adequately supported in order to position it as next to agriculture in terms of income for government and as a window to boost employment across the country.”

    The NIPSS boss endorsed the various initiatives being taken by NFC to reposition its subsidiary and training arm, the National Film Institute (NFI), with a promise to assist it with faculty resources to enhance learning and research in motion picture production.

    During the meeting, the NFC chief also canvassed for federal and state government agencies to partner, design programmes and projects that will empower Nigerians sustainably, noting that the NFC was desirous of instituting enduring policy and strategic framework to aid the growth of the Nigerian motion picture industry.

    The Nigerian film sector, Maduekwe said, was in dire need of the establishment of the proposed National Film Development Fund (NFDF) to provide a formal funding window for film production activities, just like other sectors of the nation’s economy.

     

  • Ovation, as new MD of Film Corporation engages filmmakers

    Ovation, as new MD of Film Corporation engages filmmakers

    THERE have been conjectures of another misfit in the new leadership of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC). But stakeholders in the motion picture industry appeared stunned, last Thursday, during their first meeting with the new Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe, at the agency’s Lagos Office, where he showed profound understanding of the challenges facing the film sector.

    Every last line of Maduekwe’s speech was greeted with applause, and what more; a standing ovation at the end of the engagement.

    Now, it appears their fears have been allayed, because the new man spoke to their situations, and assured them of, not just a listening ear, but of government policies that will make their businesses thrive.

    According to Maduekwe, “Our film industry today is a net contributor to our national income. Its key performance indicators in the economy clearly show that if properly funded, it can become the single largest contributor to our national income. Indeed, I can confidently say here that we can move from the present two percent to over 10 percent net contribution to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) within the next five years.”

    He noted that although the film industry has witnessed remarkable growth and development within the last one decade, its contribution to the national economy and job creation is yet to be fully tapped. “To achieve this,” he said, “we must in the first instance integrate the Nigerian film industry into the present administration’s economic diversification agenda,” adding that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is serious in reducing dependence on oil.”

    On the need for self-regulation among practitioners, the NFC honcho said, “I will work with you to ensure that MOPICON (Motion Picture Practitioners Council of Nigeria) comes out in a way that, globally, it would be accepted as a regulatory body of repute.”

    The MOPICON draft bill has been forward to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who at the beginning of his tenure inaugurated a review committee for same.

    Maduekwe identified some of the challenges of the film industry to include obsolete law, funding, professionalism/ethics, lack of film production facilities, poor distribution and exhibition networks, as well as piracy and intellectual property protection.

    As a way of broadening the distribution platforms, the new NFC man harped on the use of internet and digital marketing as the present and future of movie business. “To advance the boundaries so far established,” he said, “we will collaborate and encourage the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other service providers to have a dedicated bandwidth access for Nigerian movie industry streaming and marketing. Through this strategy, multiple revenue streams to the creativity of our motion picture practitioners will be better enhanced.”

    On the much talked about piracy scourge, he said: “I believe you will give me your candid and professional advice on the best ways of solving this problem, which I believe has been in the drawing board for over 15 years. We would need to deploy a combination of stiffer legislation and technology to drastically reduce the presence of piracy demons in our industry. It makes nonsense of your creativity, it stiffens your creativity. If by the time you’ve burnt your midnight oil and come up with fantastic work, some other folks in Alaba market just feast on it – or Onitsha market, Kano market, Abuja market or even in Maiduguri market; you can’t rule it out – even Sambisa forest – and mass produce it and sell to Chad and other places – we are saying no to this.  The anti-piracy law by the government shall be on the front burner of the current NFC.”

    He expressed optimism for the positive contributions of Nollywood to the economy and cultural advancement of the country, saying; “South Africa is known for one of the best artillery bomb in the world, but here, we are still producing little firearm armament. But do you know that from Nollywood, you can change the narrative? In the same manner that John Kennedy, who was not a scientist but believed in America said before the end of the decade ‘we’ll put a man in the moon’. It came to pass, did it not? I am standing before you, I am not a professional like you, but we have shared commonality. I am a medical doctor by training. But medicine is not just a science, it is also an art. I and you have shared commonality. I and you believe in one thing, which is it can be great. I and you believe that we can turn things around and make this country greater than it is today, using movies to drive our economy, using movie to drive our technological breakthrough, using movies to drive our social re-engineering in the way we relate to one another, out inter-personal skills, our conduct to one another, using movies to drive away insurgency in our land, all these things are possible.”

    The second phase of the stakeholders’ forum was the introduction of panellists, drawn from among the filmmakers, who engaged other participants on possible solutions to the problems bedevilling the film sector. The exercise, according to Maduekwe, was to develop a roadmap for a new direction in Nollywood.

    “I’ve decided that we shall form three panels among you here to discuss some of these challenges to the Nigerian film industry and urgently come up with practical and applicable recommendation that will form part of our road map to government on how to develop this industry and integrate it into the socio-economic policy of this PMB administration,” he said.

    The NFC boss, who has chosen to hit the ground running, said, “This is action time. The panel will focus on the challenges in the film industry and proffer solutions…Today-today; not tomorrow,” he urged, saying; “No be action una say? We have rolled sound, we have rolled camera, so now is action… We need robust argument, and the audience could oppose the panel when necessary. Let me tell you something, my minister; the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has given me the mandate to come with a roadmap for a new direction in the movie industry that we can take to Mr. President and Mr. President will sign. So, whatever you say today is being recorded so you will not tell me you were not taken along. I want to take every body along!”  He said to a roaring applause.

    The panellists include Mrs. Uche Nwuka, Group Head, Creative Industry Desk at the Bank of Industry (BoI), Ms. Chioma Ude, Founder/CEO of Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), Nollywood actress Hilda Dukubo and film producer Opa Williams.

    Others are filmmakers Chris Ekejimbe, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, Paul Obazele, Emma Isikaku, Uzor Amadi, Baba Agba, Mrs Peju Adeyemi of Lagos State Film Censorship Board, President of Association of Movie Producers (AMP) Mr. Ralph Nwadike and Chairman of Audio Visual Rights Society, Mr. Bond Emeruwa.

    Other filmmakers at the event include Chief Eddie Ugboma, Kunle Afolayan, Iyen Agbonifo, and Mykel Parish.

  • Film Corporation workers, students call for sack of MD

    Students of the National Film Institute (NFI), Jos, Plateau State, yesterday embarked on a protest where they asked for the removal of the Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), managers of the institution, Mr Danjuma Dadu.

    Activities of the school and the NFC were brought to a halt since Tuesday when officials of the corporation began the strike that was soon joined by the students.

    According to the protesters who milled outside the Corporation’s headquarters before taking to the streets, the staff were told to convene for a promotion exam on Monday, the sixth time since last year, after which nothing was done. They also cited non-payment of allowances and a decline in the administration of the corporation as reason for the protest rally.

    Holding placards with inscriptions such as ‘Seven years no promotion’, ‘Fed Govt Help us’, ‘No to personal interest’, ‘Dadu (MD NFC) is a bricklayer not a filmmaker’, ‘Dadu (MD NFC) must go’, ‘Pay us all our allowances’ and ‘This slavery must stop,’ they also took to the social media where they vent their displeasure of the Dadu’s leadership.

    It was the first-of-its-kind protest since the establishment of the corporation in 1979.

    In some of the grievances on the social media, Manasseh Whyte said; ‘The NFC has a lot of innovation to put in place in order to add immensely to the development of the film industry. The only good thing about the NFC as it is now is the NFI; even that as I heard, is been affected seriously. The NFC needs to take seriously the reasons for its establishment.’

    Otuogbodor Andrew was cynic, saying ‘They are just realising the absence of vision of the corporation. I laugh!’

    Complaints about the management of NFC and the NFI by staff and students respectively had been rife.

    ‘Now I wonder why the students did not join in this struggle,’ said Okeagu Ikechukwu Henry, a filmmaker, advocating that students also possessed the power to influence what he considered as the rot in NFC.

    ‘If only they knew the power they had to make their filmic education grow. But I’m glad the staff has come out to fight for what is right. These things should stop in even other sectors. He killed the school and wants to kill the staff with his polices’

    Thus, when the students began their protest yesterday,  they cited lack of requisite training facilities as some of the problems confronting them. The students in one voice also denounced the school administration and called for a change.

    “We need all help, from the Media to transform National film Institute, Jos,” Agbo Kelly said, complaining that they couldn’t have a degree and couldn’t participate in the National Youth Service Corps, while Ejim Fortune Kezi said, ‘NFI’s autonomy is the only solution to this nonsense!!! Aluta continue  my peeps! Kudos.’

    Another student, Friday Nwagwu, also said: ‘When we protested lack of equipment and facilities in NFI and our admission was threatened, what did we get as response from staffs?’

    ‘The rat wey bite me don enter somebody house. Fight for your right oh.’

    However, by yesterday evening, NFC’s Public Affairs Officer, Ngozi Udoh, in a telephone call with The Nation, said all the issues have been resolved.

    “The issues that generated the protest has been resolved,” Udoh said.

    “It was just a small minor misunderstanding based on our promotion that ought to have held yesterday (Tuesday) but because of some logistics, the promotion was not held. But as I am talking to you now, we have just finished the promotion exercise. So everything has been resolved. The management, the union, we had a meeting, the managing director addressed the staff in the morning where everything has been amicably resolved.”

    She said the managing director also met with the union of the NFI.

    “The MD has also met with the student representatives in the morning. he had a meeting with them. And he has also promised to look into the issues. They also had one or two issues that they wanted management to look into. And MD has promised them. As we are talking, we are in the facility of the NFI. And because the issues were amicably addressed, they (students) allowed us to use the facility for the promotion exam.”

    Dadu has been hugely criticised for lack of professionalism and transparent leadership since he took over as MD of the corporation in 2013.

    It was the first time a non-film practitioner was made the MD of the NFC. This, many condemned as one of the faults of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

    Dadu is an Engineer who was made MD despite huge protest by Nigerian filmmakers.