The Federal Government has released the sum of N420.2 million to the Nigeria film industry, Nollywood, to improve and support aspiring practitioners.
The Deputy Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Finance, Patricia Deworitshe, in a statement in Abuja said, the money which is the second tranche payment will benefit 105 film distributors.
The Buhari-led administration had earlier introduced the “Project Act Nollywood”, with three primary components designed to develop the movie making value chain.
The components comprise of the Film Production Fund (FPF), Capacity Building Fund (CBF) and Innovative Distribution Fund (IDF).
The FPF and CBF have been fully implemented, while the IDF is on-going.
The IDF covers online, National, Regional and community categories of Nollywood Film distribution and exhibition.
Its objectives are to improve the distribution network of Nigerian Audio-Visual contents, cut down on piracy, create jobs, and protect intellectual property rights within the Nigerian entertainment industry.
N1.8 billion was approved for disbursement to 106 beneficiaries in this component, and N1.335 billion was disbursed earlier in the year as the first tranche to 105 beneficiaries.
Deworitshe said : “Fifteen community cinemas and viewing centres have been established through the grant and this has improved the distribution network of movies in Nigeria.The programme has supported 18 firms in strengthening online distribution platforms, this has helped curb illegal downloads and piracy.
“Two hundred and fifty six permanent jobs and 544 temporary jobs have been created through the financial support provided to 105 beneficiaries by the programme,’’ she said.
She explained that the programme has allowed distributors to expand their capacity to lip-synching their content in French for onward distribution to the ECOWAS sub-region.
