Movie makers, investors, actors and actresses converged on Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos for a cocktail prelude to the opening of this year’s Edo State International Film Festival (EDSIFF) holding next month in Benin City. Tagged Industry Mixer Cocktail, the event was to reassure industry players of the state’s commitment to the growth of the creative sector, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports
From the late Grammy award-winning Sir Victor Efosa Uwaifo to the Africa Movie Academy award-winning Lancelot Imasuen and FESTAC 77 mask, Queen Idia, carver Pa Joseph Alufa Igbinovia, Edo State boasts of scores of talents who have etched Nigeria on the entertainment world map. It’s talents as these that have motivated the establishment of Edo State International Film Festival (EDSIFF), which made its debut last year.
While assuring that EDSIFF will outlive his administration, Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki said this year’s festival will be richer and better. For the Edo State government, preserving Uwaifo’s legacy is uppermost in its minds. On how to preserve Sir Victor Uwaifo’s legacy particularly the museum, he said: “The late Sir Victor Uwaifo was ahead of his time. He was a great mind who won a Grammy award in the 60s before many of us were born. And so for us, we were just lucky to have someone like him. He was a consummate artist. He wrote songs, was a sculptor, a painter and a writer. For that, he deserves to be immortalised. That’s why we named that facility after him. To answer your question specifically, it doesn’t only apply to Sir Victor Uwaifo, it applies to every artist in this country. How do we preserve our art? Go to National Museum in Onikan, Lagos and see how these pieces are preserved.”
In November 2021, Governor Obaseki inaugurated Edo Creative Hub to immortalise late ‘guitar boy’, Prof. Victor Uwaifo, noting that it would help Edo youths to harness their entertainment potentials.
According to him, the state government provided the infrastructure as an enabler to allow industry players take it up from there. He stated that for sustainability, the festival has moved beyond government.
Governor Obaseki who spoke at an industry players’ cocktail at Fantasia Hall, Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, recently, said the state was motivated by the crises in the East and dearth of infrastructure for film production in the country, aside Lagos, which is a major hub. He pledged a star prize of 35,000 dollars for the festival, which will feature 19 categories. They include Best English film, Best non-English film, Best feature length film, Best short film, Best indigenous film, Best actor, best director, Best female actor, Best male actor among others.
The second edition of Edo State International Film Festival, which is a gathering of movie makers, investors, distributors, exhibitors, and industry enthusiasts from across the globe, will hold on Nov 30 to Dec 2.
Over 1, 500 entries were submitted and no fewer than 500 movies screened, while master and business classes were held as part of activities leading to the award ceremony.
“So, what have we done? For instance, some producers used to produce in the East and they have all these crises. We asked them to come to Edo. We will give all the incentives and they have started producing since. In fact, they have found their ways around the process.
“First, we said, let’s support them with the right infrastructure. It is not free but it is available and we are now going to the next stage of saying we don’t understand this business, are you interested? We will sell it to them because we have created the industry.
“The government is supposed to be a facilitator and an enabler. That’s what we have done in this case. So, having enabled it, the people know we have guaranteed some numbers of rooms that we can sell to these actors when they come every year. So, they can continue with their deal whether I’m there or not,” he said.
He stressed that what is critical or key in creative industry business, is being able to offer products that have market acceptability. He noted that most Nollywood films produced locally are sold outside the shores of the country. “So, I think for us, the strategy is to make sure that we are able to develop Edo as a hub for production and make it easy for producers to come and work there. Also, we will make sure it is more convenient, cost-effective and how do we do that? What do you need as a producer? You need talent and the ability to manage your costs.
“So, in Edo, we are training people across the spectrum as cinematographers, sound engineers, all the sub-aspects of production so that at the click of a finger, you find somebody who is experienced and talented enough to support your work. We are also investing in technology such that when you want to stream your contents, you are not looking for some 4G or 5G or something. You are actually connected on high speed. At Sir Victor Uwaifo Hub for instance, light does not blink. It is 24/7 electricity supply because we have a dedicated IPP- Independent Power Project facility that supplies electricity to that facility or anywhere else. So, what we are doing strategically is to focus on those areas that will make it easier for producers to come and produce their products in Edo,” he added.
Reacting to if the festival has generated direct foreign investment since last year, Governor Obaseki said he is more focused on local investors to grow the business and that when the state succeeds in developing a resilient local industry, internationals will buy in. “So, I don’t start from an international perspective, I start from a local perspective. With a market of 200 million consumers, with a continent of almost a billion consumers, let’s start with what we have,” he said.
