40 Nollywood players get N150 million grant from FG

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

About 40 practitioners in the Nigerian film industry otherwise known as Nollywood have been awarded various grants under the recently inaugurated Capacity Training Fund of the Presidential Intervention Scheme for the industry.

The applications submitted by the practitioners for the fund christened 'Project ACT Nollywood' successfully scaled the rigorous qualification processes for the training and skills acquisition segment of the Capacity Building Fund.

A statement issued Wednesday by Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the grants, which were currently being processed would enable the practitioners receive high quality training in accredited institutions to improve their competencies in various areas of film craft.

The training part of the Capacity Building Fund is valued at N150 million and is dedicated to training and skills acquisition for Nigerian movie practitioners in all competencies along the entire value chain of the nation's movie industry.

These include scriptwriting, directing, production and production design, special effects, lighting, sound, HD techniques, acting, cinematography, make-up, editing, among others.

The second component is the Capacity Development Fund (CDF) which is also worth N150 million. It will give grants to existing Nigerian-owned private institutes that offer training courses, programmes and technical certification in the movie industry. While expressing satisfaction with the development, Okonjo-Iweala appealed for more applications from qualified practitioners.

She said "The objective of ACT Nollywood is to help the industry to make further progress on a more solid foundation. That is President Jonathan's vision. But we need more practitioners to come forward and take advantage of the opportunity. Go to the website and apply, apply, apply. That's what we want. We need more qualified practitioners to apply from different parts of the country. The rate of applications from the north has been particularly low. This project is for the whole movie industry so practitioners need to come forward and take advantage of the opportunity."

Another segment of Project ACT Nollywood, the Film Production Fund, is also operational. Already the website, www.projectactnollywod.com.ng has been activated and is ready for applications. The Film Production Fund (FPF) is a N700 million instrument, which allocates grants to production companies and independent producers for the making of commercially viable films at any stage of production.

This includes Pre-production (scripting, budgeting, location, cast and crew), Production (shooting, film set), Post-production (editing, sound, and graphics); and Marketing/distribution/exhibition (selling the movies to audiences)

The FPF contributes to commercially viable film projects with grants of up to N10 million. A number of medium budget film projects will be considered for a higher grant contribution. Funds are used to subsidise pre- production, production or post-production costs of films, and in making these grants the initiative supports the further development of the Nollywood film industry and filmmaking talent.

Eligible formats include feature films, documentaries, animation, short films, tv formats. Movies may be in English or from any of the three main regional genres; a limited number of films in other indigenous languages may be considered. To qualify, movie projects should have national and international appeal.