Women seek inclusion in filmmaking

…… says filmmakers are game changers
The French Embassy PISCCA Programme, in partnership with Girls Voices Initiative (GVI), Tuesday, seeks more women in the film industry to develop the entertainment sector.

The group recalled that women in the Nigerian movie industry tell the best stories and make contributions to other sectors of the fields.

Creative Director of GVI, Mrs Carolyn Seaman, disclosed this in Abuja, at the National Female Filmmakers’ Congress (NFFC), organized by Girls Voices Initiative and supported by the French Embassy to Nigeria and other partners, to mark the International Day of the Girl and the World Mental Health Day.
She said: “We are very tired of seeing women as actors, makeup artists and production managers because we manage the money properly. We want to do more of handling the camera, recording sound and others.
“We know that women can do this, but the journey actually starts from educating women with the skills, giving them the tools that empower them to do this job as excellently as anybody in the sector”.
Carolyn said that women have done a lot of contributions to the Nigerian film industry, but have consistently been underrepresented in sectors.
In her remarks, the Ambassador of France to Nigeria, Mrs Emmanuelle Blatmann, urged women to champion advocacy for rights and use films to share their stories that would inspire girls and women in Nigeria.

Blatmann was represented by its Program Officer, Ms Camille Oren, who said: “Through its PISCCA programme, the French Embassy is proud to support GV since 2019 in promoting girls’ and women’s rights.
“Indeed, gender equality is a priority of the French government, which spearheads this commitment through its feminist foreign policy.
“France is advocating gender equality in international forums and here, in Nigeria, the Embassy of France is implementing the PISCCA programme which stands for innovative projects from civil societies and coalitions of actors and aims at supporting innovative projects from local civil society to promote women’s rights”.
Also speaking, an Author and Creative Entrepreneur, Chinyere Obi-Obasi, called on the GVI group to increase knowledge of young girls in filmmaking to address challenges facing girl children in Nigeria.