Entertainment
GOV. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Friday charged the National Film And Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to develop strong synergy with relevant agencies, both locally and internationally, to further grow the film industry.
Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Lagos State Commissioner For Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, gave the charge at the Second Nigeria Digital Content Regulation Conference held in Lagos.
The two-day event had in attendance stakeholders in the local and international streaming services, Independent producers, Free-To-Air, Pay TV Operators, Telcos, content creators and other operators in the film industy.
Sanwo-Olu said NFVCB needed to develop such synergy in order to tap the tremendous potential in the industry, promote professionalism and quality for content creators to compete internationally.
He noted that the shift from the traditional to digital content consumption and the operations of the national and international over -the-top streaming services had continued to impact the growth of local film industry in Nigeria.
According to him, the shift has also contributed immensely to the growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the years.
“As the nation’s motion industry aligns itself with the digital world in content creation and distribution.
“There is a need to give funds, structure, balance and protection to the digital content consumption so that it does not lose its value and morals.
“The Nigeria film industry is one of the largest in the world,moving from obscurity to an employer of thousands of people and promoting national culture and unity,” he said.
According to him, the role of NFVCB in containing the negative influences that film and video may have on the society cannot be over-emphasised.
The governor stated that the state government, was aware of the challenges facing the film industry, especially the issue of arbitrary digital content creation with the advent of the social media.
He said that the government had put in place polices to regulate the sharing of phonographic films and other videos that have explicit, inappropriate content.
The governor said that his administration had introduced interventions and initiatives aimed at bringing succour to story tellers and creative writers.
“In addition to strengthening the capacity of the government’s regulatory agencies, especially the state’s film and video censor board, we have demonstrated strong enabling environment for the creative industry to thrive and realise its full potential.
“Some of the initiatives include: rehabilitation of the Iconic Global Memorial hall, establishment of Lagos State Film Fund aimed at encouraging the development of award winning stories that can compete effectively with their counterparts in other climes”,he said
Sanwoolu added that the government was in the process of developing 100 acres of land, located at Ejirin in Epe, to build a film city
” The film city is designed to be a world-class infrastructure for film producers. Equally important is our partnership with Beyo Creative Academy of professionals in the film industry and other international creative academies.
“This partnership has yielded fruitful results with the graduation of another 890 trainees in various aspect of film making, including script writing, acting ,directing ,editing, post production, among others.
“While other beneficiaries are still undergoing some forms of training in various film academies and studios,” he said.
According to the governor, all of these are being pursued in furtherance with the objectives in the entertainment and tourism programmes in the present administration’s THEMES agenda.
Sanwo-Olu assured stakeholders in the film industry of the state government’s commitment to a mutual beneficial relationship with the industry.
In his welcome address, Alh. Adedayo Thomas, Executive Director, NFVCB ,said the Nigeria digital content regulation conference was conceived in 2021 to bring key industry players, policy makers and entrepreneurs together to chart a common front towards repositioning Nigeria’s film industry.
Thomas stated that the conference was an avenue to discuss regulations in the film industry, with focus on streaming services and the need to bring balance and equity to the ecosystem, especially with the disruption of the digital era.
” The overall goal of this conference is to create a platform for robust dialogue between the government, through the regulator and the VOD platforms.
“This is led by the Over-The-Top (OTT)streamers, as the government strives to oversee, monitor, moderate and balance the digital phenomenon for all players.
“As the shift from traditional to digital content consumption and the operations of local and international Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming services continue to impact on the growth of the local film industry in Nigeria,it has become imperative to convene the second edition of this conference,” he said. (NAN)
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Tags: Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu NFVCB Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf
