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Tag: Kene Mkparu

  • Kene Mkparu attends Emerging Cinema Market Conference in Turkey

    Former Managing Director of FilmOne Limited and now Chief Executive Officer of KomWorld, Nigeria, Kene Mkparu, was in Istanbul, Turkey to attend the 2018 Emerging Cinema Market Conference as a key speaker.

    Mkparu, a respected voice in the cinema exhibition and distribution aspect of the film industry, joined other leading cinema exhibitors, technology companies and industry experts to explore innovations, opportunities and challenges for cinema development in Emerging Cinema Market (ECM). Organised by DCS Events in association with The Big Picture and SISAY Turkish Exhibitors Association, the ECM is without a doubt crucial to the development of the new opportunities across Africa, Central Asia, the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Turkey.

    Ahead of the event, Mkparu said he looked forward to a very informative and interesting event that would also offer a unique chance to network with industry experts and professionals as well a unique chance to share the story and potentials of the biggest cinema market in the continent of Africa.

    “It is going to be the gathering of who’s is who in cinema business and so I am one for any opportunity to tell our success story as an industry and also to share ideas and experience on how we can grow and become truly global best practice operators,” Mkparu said shortly before he jetted out to Turkey for the conference.

    “So I am excited about this conference particularly that there will be a highlight on Africa and Turkey. I am also excited about the huge attention it will direct to Nigeria.”

    Other speakers at the conference which hosted trade show were Paul Higginson, Executive Vice President – EMEA, 20th Century Fox, Till Cussmann, Senior Vice President Sales & GM Europe, Vista, Arturo Guillen, Vice President, EMEA & India, ComScore, Mariam el Bacha, Chief Executive Officer, Cinepax, Pakistan and Jordi Wientjes, Consultant The Big Picture & Founder, Jordi Wientjes Solutions B.V.

  • Filmhouse: Kene Mkparu pre-empts sack, resigns

    Following a tussle with the Board of Filmhouse and FilmOne Distribution, its CEO, Kene Mkparu, has resigned his position with both companies.

    The companies confirmed this in a statement released by Filmhouse Cinemas and FilmOne Distribution and Production signed by Kene Okwuosa.

    “It is with a heavy heart that I announce the decision of the Board of Directors of Filmhouse Cinemas and FilmOne Distribution and Production, to part ways with Mr. Kene Mkparu, in his position as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of both companies,” according to the statement.

    “Mr Mkparu, as we all know, was a co-founder of both companies, and instrumental in building them from scratch to becoming the leading cinema chain, theatrical distributor and production company Group in Nigeria. We are most thankful to him for this and for the opportunity to have worked with him. He was and remains a true visionary, and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.

    “Filmhouse and FilmOne are entering a new phase, thus the Board has decided to appoint new Managing Director(s) to steer the affairs of both companies. In the meantime, I, Kene Okwuosa will function as the interim Managing Director of Filmhouse Cinemas and Moses Babatope will function as the Interim Managing Director of FilmOne Distribution and Production, pending the appointment of a substantive Managing Director.

    “Contrary to some news being peddled in the public domain, the Board wishes to assure everyone that the company is in good health, and there is no cause for alarm.”

    There has been a rumoured tussle among the top hierarchy of Filmhouse Cinema/FilmOne Distribution, leading to the owners of the company, African Capital Alliance weighing in in the last few months.

    Mkparu had left Genesis Cinema in similar manner to co-found Filmhouse six years ago.

  • Arrest of pirates, a dagger in the heart of crime, says Kene Mkparu, MD Filmhouse 

    Arrest of pirates, a dagger in the heart of crime, says Kene Mkparu, MD Filmhouse 

    The mood was that of relief and hope, as exhibits confiscated from film pirates apprehended at Alaba International Market, Lagos, were displayed for stakeholders at the Lagos office of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) on Monday. Industry players from banking, cinema, and marketing sectors joined actors and filmmakers whose works were illegally replicated to laud the raid by the NFVCB and members of the Film and Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN). In this chat with Victor Akande, MD/CEO of Filmhouse/FilmOne Distribution, Mr. Kene Mkparu, spoke about how piracy has affected cinema businesses, opining that with the arrest of four pirates in the last operation comes a new hope for a better film business environment. Excerpts: 

    What is your impression of this arrest of pirates and confiscation of films and machines by the Censors Board?

     

    I think this is a great move. This is what the entire Nigerian film industry has been trying to fix in the last 10 years – to sanitize and structure the industry. What has happened is that there has been a growing demand for our film products.  And a lot of people want to watch films for which a lot of people have set up legitimate businesses – DVD distribution, cinemas, and online distribution – to try and get the product across to people in a legitimate way. Unfortunately, piracy has been a huge bane in forestalling this progress. So, I think this is a dagger in the heart of piracy in the whole country.

     

    How would you say piracy has affected cinema business in Nigeria?

     

    Your guess is as good as mine. I think what we are going to start seeing now is an increase in demand for cinema business, cinema outlets, and legitimate DVD stores as well, and more importantly, people are going to get the right products, not the fake ones.

     

    Are there others areas the people’s lives and economy that piracy checks will help improve?

     

    Indeed. On the side, but very importantly as well is that a lot of the revenues from piracy go towards drug trafficking, towards illicit businesses, and for our society as a whole, it is also a dagger in the heart of crime. I think it is a fantastic development and I’m glad that everybody from different facets of the industry has come to support this. And I believe this is just the beginning; there is no rest for the criminals. We are happy to see what is happening.

     

    Some of these titles have only been released in the cinemas; does it not bother cinema owners that one of the windows explored by the pirates may the cinema?

     

    It does bother us. However, piracy is a syndicated crime and a whole chain of people are involved in it. It could be anyone from the editing studios down the chain to the consumers. So, what we are looking at is that from production to post production, editing studio to the cinemas and the people that handle the distribution, up to film festivals level etcetera, there needs to be mechanisms in place to checkmate any possible loophole. You know human beings can be unscrupulous and when pirates offer people a lot of money, they can compromise.  So, there needs to be checks and multiple checks at all levels. For instance, a whole bunch of our cinemas actually have infrared goggles. Thus, curtailing the old way of bringing out cameras to record film from the screen illegally – we have goggles that can detect such and a whole bunch of things. In addition to what the Censors Board is doing by directly fighting physical piracy, we are also doing things, and I encourage others in the legitimate business chain to do something as well. If we can put checks and sub-checks in place, I think it will get to a point that, within 12 months, Nigeria will conquer, possibly, 10 percent piracy. This is a good move, it’s really a dagger. What has been happening before now is like fighting somebody and you just scratch them in the hand, sometimes you cut off one finger but the whole body is still moving. This one is a dagger, straight to the heart.

     

     

    Can we therefore say that our cinemas in Nigeria are safe in helping to protect intellectual property?

     

    Cinemas in Nigeria have always been safe. They have always been 90 percent safe because nothing is 100 percent safe. And that’s a great thing. This is even better than some countries overseas. Like I said, you would always get unscrupulous people but we need to put systems in place such that once you get hold of an unscrupulous staff, you jail them and throw away the key. The full force of the law will be on them and put things that would deter people from doing it. 90 percent safe, that is impressive for a country.

     

    What advice would you give government with regard to the laws on piracy that have been adjudged weak?

     

    I think we need to look at that. It’s all a development over the years. When these laws were set up, piracy wasn’t this bad. Now, as the world progresses, we need to also review the laws to move with it. What has happened this period with the National Film and Video Censors Board should be a beginning, but it should be backed by law, the same way that the drug industry and NAFDAC (National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control) are backed by law. If we need to amend any law in the best interest of the people and their businesses, government should be up and doing about it.

  • Film One boss lauds ‘geeks meet nollywood’ initiative

    Kene Mkparu, Managing Director, Film One Distribution, has commended the technology investors from overseas and Nollywood for engaging in “geek meet nollywood”, aimed to network and explore greater connections between both ecosystems.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event which took place at Film-House, Lekki, Lagos, brought Silicon Valley technology investors, who are currently transforming the global film industry together with Nollywood’s finest creative and way-makers.

    The geeks were hosted in a series of curated events to celebrate Nigeria’s entrepreneurial talent, highlight disruptive technologies and showcase investment opportunities.

    “We need to understand the aim of why these Silicon Valley investors are coming; they are investors, primarily investors.

    “They are Venture Capital Company, they are people that look out for great ideas, and then put money behind the great ideas.

    “So, it’s a great thing that they’ve come to Africa, come to Nigeria to look at opportunities in Nollywood and look at opportunities in the entire Nigeria film Industry.

    “It’s up to us to show them the opportunities, and then they can bring their money,” said Mkparu.

    He added: “We shouldn’t be saying to them, come and help us to solve our problem. No, we should be saying, here is our idea to solve our problem.

    “I have the idea, I don’t have a lot of capital, then they will put capital and we will work together in partnership and make things happen; that is my excitement about what is happening here”.

    Popular Actor, Uti Nwachukwu, also lauded the international E-Commerce sector for coming to develop and invest in the entertainment sector, especially Nollywood.

    “I’m already a professional actor, but I will be sponsored to fine tune my skills overseas to make sure I come out at the top with regards to my acting skills.

    “It is an amazing experience; you would think you know a lot of thinks but when you go to some of the people that started this business, you will be amazed.

    “I have a lot to learn, it is mind blowing, it is a rich experience for me, and it is one I’m not going to forget in a hurry,” he said.

    Nwachukwu said that he learnt everything about character interpretation, execution, understanding one’s scene, how to react to everything that is on your script.

    He added that he also learnt that every word meant something and about movie making in general.

    “The African region is definitely of interest to 500 Startups as we continue to look for and source deals from traditionally underrepresented ecosystems.

    “While we invest 70 per cent in the U.S., 30 per cent of our deals are spread across 60 different countries currently.

    “Through Geeks on a Plane we are looking to build stronger relationships with investors on the ground, maybe even find a few startups to invest in and have a lot of fun with local nerds,’’ said Dave McClure, Founding Partner at 500 Startups.

    Another Investor, Maya Horgan-Famodu, founder of “Ingressive” also said: “We are excited to host in Nigeria.

    “We hope to facilitate these relationships further and showcase high quality Nigerian startups to international tech experts and investors.

    “Trips like these open doors and change businesses in ecosystems,” she said.

    NAN reports that from Lagos, the Geeks will travel to Accra, Ghana, where they will meet with business leaders, attend conferences, visit co-working spaces and share venture creation ideas with key ecosystem leaders and investors.

    And the tour will also move on to South Africa where they will interact with innovation actors in Johannesburg and Capetown who have blazed the trail and led entrepreneurial activities in Southern Africa.

     

  • Filmhouse plans 15 more cinemas

    Filmhouse plans 15 more cinemas

    •Gets African Capital Alliance’s funding

    The management of Filmhouse Cinemas has announced its readiness to open 15 new cinema outlets from December 2014, in additional to the existing four.

    The company which began operations in December 2012 is fast becoming ubiquitous, beating old player, Silverbird Cinemas on the number of outlets across the country.

    Co-founder and Managing Director of the company, Kene Mkparu, told newsmen in Calabar, Cross River State, during the just-concluded Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), about a new deal with African Capital Alliance (ACA). The deal, according to him, is to establish five new cinemas before the end of December and additional10 outlets by 2015, and then about 4 yearly from 2016.

    Mkparu’s words confirmed ACA’s earlier announcement of its investments into Filmhouse Cinemas and Film One, its associated film production and distribution company, which described the latter as the fastest growing cinema chain in Nigeria with a great team.

    ACA is currently investing out of its third fund (CAPE III), a $400 million private equity fund.

    Speaking on Filmhouse and Film One’s growth prospects, ACA Partner Paul Kokoricha said, “Despite Nigeria having one of the largest film industries in the world the cinema space is largely untapped. The world over, cinema exhibition and film distribution are key segments of the film industry and the main drivers of economic value in the sector. We are looking forward to partnering with the team to deliver on the promise of the sector.”

    Kokoricha praised the initiative of Mkparu and his team for diversifying its operations, by launching Film One, which has released the two highest grossing Nigerian blockbusters this year – Half of a Yellow Sun and October 1.”

    Mkparu commented on the transaction, saying, “We are delighted with Africa Capital Alliance’s investment in our strategic plans for cinema roll-out expansion, film distribution and production. With this investment, we can scale up quickly and strengthen our position as an industry leader. We believe ACA brings valuable local and international expertise that will help grow our business.”

    Filmhouse’s current cinemas include, Leisure Mall, Surulere, Foreshore, Ikoyi and Apapa in Lagos; Marina Resort, Calabar, Cross River State; Heritage Mall Dugbe and Samonda in Ibadan, Oyo State; Ist Avenue and Asaba Grand Hotel in Asaba, Delta State; Kano, Kano State and Port Harcourt, Rivers State.