A university lecturer, Prof. Saint Gbilekaa, has called for dialogue between filmmakers, regulators and other stakeholders, to promote best practices in Nigeria’s motion picture industry.
Gbilekaa of the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Abuja made the call in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Friday.
He spoke on the sidelines of a capacity building workshop for officers of North-West Zone of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB).
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The workshop with theme: “Film and Video Works in the New Horizon,” is holding from May 9 to 10, with stakeholders from the academia and seasoned industry practitioners.
Gbilekaa, who earlier spoke as a resource person on “Professionalising the Classification Process of Nigerian Films,” described Nollywood as a major contributor to nation growth, especially job creation.
He, however, said there was need for collaborative efforts between filmmakers, distributors and NFVCB, the regulator, to chart a common front to effectively maximise opportunities.
Gbilekaa noted that in line with the board’s statutory mandate of overseeing the film and video industry, a sustained roundtable between it and industry players would make the players to understand what was expected from them by law.
“A dialogue is needed between the NFVCB and those involved in the business of film making because the sector cannot function well without the input of the board.
“Stakeholders must see the regulator as a partner in progress, who is out to ensure that national interest is protected.
“Such dialogue will make filmmakers willingly at all times offer their works for classification and licensing without being forced to do so.”
The lecturer advised Nollywood filmmakers and distributors to scrutinize their works in line with the nation’s classification requirements.
