Jonathan’s N3Billion Nollywood Fund: Movie Producers Lament Poor Disbursement

A Nigerian film maker, Eddie Ugbomou, on Sunday
expressed concern about the stringent conditions
attached to accessing the N3 billion fund for the
development of film industry in Nigeria.
The fund was provided by the administration of
President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013 to help boost
the Nigerian movie industry, Nollywood.
Speaking at the ZAAFAR Film Award in London,
Ugbomou said that "the process of accessing the
fund is too cumbersome and film makers are
discouraged to access it.
"Producers have undergone three stages of
interviews where they were asked to provide various
documents on their projects.
"Yet, they cannot access the loan, the sooner the
authority releases the money the better; if that is
done, it will boost the industry because more than
150 producers will be empowered."
The producer also said that inadequate funding had
remained a major challenge to Nollywood film
producers.
"Even though Nigeria is rated as the third most
valuable film industry in the world, it is difficult to
breakthrough from its infancy stage.
"How can you shoot a film with N20 million and
compare it with the one shot with 20 million dollars?
Nollywood requires funding for it to grow,'' he said.
Also speaking at the occasion, Sola Omole, the
Director-General of Nigerian Television Authority,
NTA, stressed the need for private sector's
engagement in funding Nollywood.
"There is a tendency for Nigerians to think that
everything has to be done by government, I think
that is a wrong premise.
"Government is buffeted on all angles, it has to
provide all kind of things but if you want a successful
venture, especially one that is profit oriented, the
private sector has a huge role to play.
"Government is a social provider, it provides water,
electricity and an enabling environment, but it is the
private sector capital that yields profit.
"Developing an artistic endeavour such as film
industry is a private initiative, and if the story is
good, then it becomes marketable and it will attract
funding,'' he said.
In the same vein, Patricia Bala, the Director-General
of the National Film and Video Censors Board,
NFVCB, expressed government's commitment to
developing Nollywood.
He noted that Nollywood was a veritable platform for
branding the nation's image and urged film
producers to key into the fund.
The lecture entitled "Promoting Ethics and Values in
the African Film Industry,'' attracted participants
from the British Film Institute, Nollywood film
makers, NTA and NFVCB.
[NAN]

Posted By David Aniemeka