NFC repositions for better movie industry

The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) has unveiled plans to encourage upcoming and existing filmmakers across the country to produce movies with ease.

In a statement released to The Guardian, NFC, Managing Director, Dr. Danjuma Dadu, disclosed that the corporation has acquired new equipment and props, which would be hired to filmmakers at a very low rate to lessen cost of production.

“In the past these facilities have been provided for hire to moviemakers, but they damaged and returned them to the corporation; we are revisiting the system because we cannot continue this way. We have to ease the challenges of shooting films in the country and also encourage upcoming ones, as a way of creating job opportunities for the youths and also telling our stories,” he said.

Among the ongoing changes, is a bill for the creation of a new Nigerian Film Commission (NFC), that will reposition the industry by encouraging professionalism, fighting monopoly and establishing new production service for the benefit of filmmakers and other stakeholders in the industry.

“We shall lease film equipment to practitioners and establish National Film Development Fund (NFDF) to provide soft loans for filmmakers because lack of proper funding has been a setback to our activities. To this also, we shall establish an annex institute in Ikoyi, Lagos, with the support and participation of our grand-master and former chairman, and as well make money from the shoot of commercials,” he said.

Explaining how the corporation is going to key into government change mantra, he disclosed that NFC would work in collaboration with the necessary government agencies to promote government policies and the Change Campaign.

“We can’t leave the Minister alone to campaign for ‘Change;’ we will endeavour to shoot jingles in the three main Nigerian languages, hold workshops, seminars and organise more trainings for new filmmakers,” he said.

On a way forward for the industry, the statement disclosed that NFC would raise fund from multinationals to jointly produce mega movies with professionals within and abroad, adding that it will pitch for films in International Film festival and encourage a joint Film Village Project in the country, aside making sure that all film matters are channeled through the corporation to the appropriate agent(s).