Abuja – The Federal
Government has
approved N300 million
out of the three billion
naira intervention fund
for capacity building to
boost the Nigerian film
industry.

This is contained in a
statement issued in
Abuja on Sunday by Mr
Paul Nwabuikwu,
Spokesman for the
Minister of Finance and
Coordinating Minister
for the Economy, Dr
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
“Action on the three
billion naira support
promised the Nigerian
film industry by
President Goodluck
Jonathan has formally
commenced with the
roll out of a N300
million capacity building
fund.’’

The statement noted
that the capacity
building fund was the
first of a series of
initiatives planned under
“Project Act Nollywood’’,
adding that It was made
up of two components.
According to the
statement, the first
component is a Training
Fund of N150 million,
dedicated to training
and skills acquisition for
Nollywood practitioners
in all competencies
along the entire value
chain of the industry.
The statement said it
include; scriptwriting,
directing, production
and production design,
special effects, lighting,
sound, HD techniques,
acting, cinematography,
make-up and editing,
among others.

It said that the second
component was the
Capacity Development
Fund which was also
worth N150 million.
According to the
statement, grants will
be given to existing
Nigerian-owned private
institutes that offer
training courses,
programmes, and
technical certification in
the movie industry.
The statement said the
fund might be used to
upgrade existing
facilities, procure
equipment and develop
internal capacity to offer
a set of courses and
training programmes
that would address key
skills gaps.

It said that institutes to
benefit from the fund
must have a prove of
registration from Jan. 1,
2013, and be
competent enough to
train people according
to global best practices.
The statement said that
the intervention Project
ACT Nollywood, would
be managed by the
Coordinating Minister
for the Economy and
the Minister of Tourism,
Chief Edem Duke.

Okonjo-Iweala in the
statement said the
establishment of the
fund underscored
government’s
commitment to
supporting Nollywood in
recognition of its
contributions to the
economy.

“This is the first of the
initiatives planned under
Project Act Nollywood,
and it shows that the
president is keeping his
word to the industry
and to Nigerians.

“Nollywood deserves
this support because it
has added value to the
economy by creating
jobs and acting as an
ambassador to the
country.

“It is also projecting
Nigeria to many parts of
the world that hitherto,
knew little or nothing
about the country,” it
quoted Okonjo-Iweala
as saying.

It said that the overall
objective of Project Act
Nollywood was to
support the industry in a
sustainable way that
practitioners could
leverage on to improve
their capacity and
output in key areas.
“The fund is open for
applications from July to
December 2013.

Courses commencing
after Dec. 31st are
eligible provided the
application is received
before Dec. 31 2013.’’
It said that guidelines
for applications
indicated that applicants
must be Nigerians and
industry practitioners
among other
requirements. (NAN)


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Confused thread

Well....this isn't a bad move.

But if any of them is reading this thread.....abeg use part of the initiative fund to build screening theatres in all 36 states. Its very important!