FGN continues to support Nollywood

The Federal Government of Nigeria continues to support the Nigerian movie industry-Nollywood as it recently announced the availability of application forms for the 2 Billion Naira Innovation Distribution Fund (IDF) aimed at improving the distribution of audio-visual content, cut down on piracy, and to better protect intellectual property in the industry. The IDF is targeted at the businesses that operate or plan to operate in the film distribution space. The core plan is a market driven approach which will boost the number and quality of distribution options through strategic co-financing of new channels and supporting the expansion of available ones. These could include technology-based solutions such as digital streaming, enablers of effective distribution, movie exhibition infrastructure and physical distribution. Applications for the distribution fund are welcome through the Project ACT online web portal www.projectactnollywood.com.ng which will be operational for a two month period starting January 19, 2015. The distribution fund is the third of the three funds which make up Project ACT. The other two have made reached significant implementation levels. The Capacity Building Fund valued at N300 million enabled industry practitioners to update their technical skills through foreign and existing private Nigeria-owned institutes that offer training courses, programmes and technical certification in the movie industry.

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Project ACT Nollywood, the President Goodluck Jonathan intervention programme established to improve technical and professional capacity in the value chain of the Nigerian movie industry continues to make measurable progress in achieving its core mandate. Now it is set to tackle the central challenge working against the optimum development of the sector – a poor distribution system and rampant piracy. The ultimate objective is to make pirated copies of Nollywood movies unattractive to consumers by ensuring that genuine products are easily available at a multiplicity of accessible points. This is to ensure that those who put their efforts into film production are properly rewarded. It ia documented that 92 film projects have already been supported under film production fund while 212 institutions and individuals have benefited from the capacity building fund (CBF).

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Under the Capacity Building Fund, 205 individual Nollywood practitioners within the movie industry have undertaken several training courses at home and abroad (particularly in the US, the UK, and India). Also under the Capacity Building Fund, 7 private film-training institutions in Lagos, Kano, and Port Harcourt have received grants to develop their capacities to offer training programmes. While some have received funds, others will get their grants after meeting the set criteria, including accreditation by the National Board of Technical Education. The Film Production Fund (FPF), on the other hand, aimed at co-financing commercially viable film projects with grants of up to N 10million even though a handful of film projects were considered for higher grants. Notable players in the Nollywood Industry are recipients of some of the grants in varying capacities including; Lufodo School of Performing Arts, PEFTI Film Institute, Del-York International, Magicbrush Studios, Kunle Afolayan, Desmond Elliot, Emem Isong, Jeta Amata,Denziot Integrated and logistics ltd to mention a few. For more info; http://www.projectactnollywood.com.ng/

 

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