FCT To Host Int’l Film Training

The Federal Capital Territory will in March 2010 play host to 36 professional film directors from the New York Film Institute for a month-long training for participants in the nation’s film industry.

The Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, and host of the training programme, Chief Chuka Odom, disclosed this on Friday while inaugurating the 20-man inter ministerial committee to oversee the successful hosting of the programme.

About 500 participants will take part in the training, where they will be tutored in different aspects of film making, including directing, scripting, acting, broadcasting and general production and is to be sponsored by the Lagos and Rivers State governments, as well as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), alongside the Ministry of Information and Communications, as well as other government agencies.

According to the minister, the nation’s film industry has been a major source of inspiration to other African countries, and an influential voice for Nigeria ‘s culture and people, hence the hosting of the training to grow the capacity in the nation’s film industry,

“Before our eyes, Nollywood has grown into a massive industry that is currently rated second in the world, and has become a purveyor of our unique culture, and the dynamism of our people to the outside world, aside becoming a source of livelihood for millions of people, especially the youth, who are engaged one way or another in the industry,” Odom noted.

He, however, said there was need to enhance the expertise and quality of participants in the industry so as to effectively position it to compete with the best quality productions from America and Europe.

Odom added, “Considering the unprecedented growth and the pace of development of the movie making industry in Nigeria, government has deemed it proper to weigh and contribute through collaborating with organizations such as Del-York International and the New York Film Academy to train hundreds of our youth in the subtleties and technicalities of film-making so that we can expect to gain more from the industry.”

He said the government would ensure that the fast pace of development in Nollywood would be channeled in the right direction to further propagate the immense potential inherent in diverse cultures of Nigeria.

Odom further pledged the commitment of the FCT Administration to collaborate with organisers of the training project, Del-York International, towards hosting a successful and rewarding programme, adding that government had put all mechanism in place to ensure that the visiting tutors from the United States are given every technical and logistic support for a successful outing.

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