NFVCB partners digital platform owners on film classification

The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) announced its collaboration with platform owners to ensure that classified films and video content are distributed on their channels or platforms.

The Executive Director of the Board, Dr. Husseini Shaibu made this known at the Round Table Forum organised by the NFVCB themed “Morality and Ethics in Film Production in Nigeria” at the sidelines of the Second Lagos International Film and Cinema Convention.

The Executive Director disclosed that the board is working assiduously to ensure that it puts in place all the required infrastructures to meet the demands of stakeholders before implementing the mandatory classification of content on digital platforms.

Husseini said that filmmakers must classify their films and video content.

He challenged the figures recently posted by the NFVCB. According to him, the figures do not represent the total number of films produced in the country as the majority of the films are released directly on platforms such as YouTube and other streaming services without proper classification.

The NFVCB boss said: “The Board and the platform owners are working on a protocol that will require any film or video work produced in Nigeria or imported into the country to be classified by the Board before it can be uploaded on any platform.

“I do not have any powers to go to your Instagram Page to worry you about the skits you produce for fun. However, when you are doing a film or video content, you must bring it to the Board for Classification because that is what the law says.

“I am appealing because we are not at the Board to test the law or take any stakeholder to court. Rather, If we all do what is expected of us as filmmakers, it will make our work as enforcers easier.

“The numbers are not to the benefit of Nollywood in terms of global ratings for films produced. We must send in our films for classification so we can have accurate data on the industry.”