Microsoft Word - Achieving the promise of african cultural e

Provide the industry with direct financing for development

7. Mobilize domestic financing.

8. Turn the Nigerian Film Institute into a movie hub in Nigeria. Nigeria needs to have appropriate studio facilities to facilitate the shooting of movie and improve the quality of its production. 9. Create Nollywood fund. The industry association and the government may come together to develop a Nollywood Fund that can provide scholarship to talented filmmakers to study abroad, extend support for deserving filmmakers to go to film festival across the world and to sponsor film festival and awards. 10. Strengthen the Nigerian Film Institute. The Nigerian Film institute should be run by the private sector with public sector support and should fulfill several functions including; (i) Provide a studio facility, (ii) Improving standards through training and capacity building for industry stakeholders, (iii) providing a hub for key industry skills and (iv) providing a location for equipment leasing. First the provision of a studio facility is required since the vast majority of Nigerian movies are not produced in studios. Using such locations it is very difficult to provide quality sound and lighting. Shooting is often also restricted by the other activities that are going on at the location. Studio space and time is desperately required by the industry and yet has not been provided by the private sector. This situation is a result of the fragmentation in the film industry and lack of music labels as well as the difficulty of capturing revenues from film and music products. Creating a professional studio that catered to Nigerian film-makers would go a long way to improving standards. Second, although Nigeria’s film-makers are extremely inventive and capable of improvising to overcome any situation, they will not be able to move up the value chain without increased formal sector training. The best way to provide this is through hands-on experience. It is proposed that the training courses offered should be based on collaboration and partnership with existing schools. Third, the national film institute would provide a natural hub for the industry. It would also be a place where seminars, film festivals and competitions, screenings and shows could take place. It would create awareness and promote the industry both domestically and internationally. The institute would also house the various Nigerian guilds including the Actors Guild, Directors and Creative Writers’ guilds. Finally Nigeria’s film- makers own almost all their own equipment and there is a need for equipment leasing to upgrade the quality of production through the use of modern equipment. It is proposed that the film-institute would include an equipment leasing facility that would cover its costs of operation and provide training on new equipment and editing software.

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