Nigerian Censors Board Takes Training To Port Harcourt, Nnewi

After opening its 2019 workshop series in Lagos, the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has taken its road show to the South-South and South-East zones of the country, making stops in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Nnewi, Anambra State last week.

In Port Harcourt, the programme, tagged ‘Media Literacy Capacity Building On Film Classification & Empowerment For Youth’ took place from January 15 to 16 at the Algate Hotel, an exercise facilitated by Hon. Boma Goodhead in the Asari Toru/Akuku Toru Federal Constituency.

Participants had a great time interacting with veteran actress and youth advocate, Hilda Dokubo, a daughter of the soil who helmed the talks on Film Classification.

Dokubo spoke with the most familiar references, language, gags and slangs of Rivers people.

“I’m going to make it as interactive as possible,” she began, as she threw a question that set the ball rolling. “When you buy a film, how many of you flip to the back jacket to see the Classification Symbol?” she asked with no one responded in the affirmative.

Enumerating some of the categories of classification, Dokubo explained that there was the need to adhere strictly to the rules.

“If there is a breach of classification rule, there is a problem. The problem is however not for the filmmaker but for the person that allowed the breach, because classification plays the role of informing, plays the role of healing and places responsibility on everyone, including the producer and adults,” she said.

She advocated special class for movies that encourage good virtues in people as well as those that protect the gender.

The actress who frowned at stereotype contents in Nollywood movies pointed out that as a way of changing the narrative, producers must desist from stories that portray the police as bribe collectors, soldier as civilian beaters, the girl-child doing the home chores while the boy-child plays football, as well as movies that portray career woman as endangering their home and marriage, while the full-time housewife is seen as the ideal women.

In Nnewi, the industrial nerve of the South East geo- political zone, it was a gathering of notable stakeholders in the creative industry from Nnewi North/South and Ekwusigo Federal Constituencies.

The event which held on Thursday, January 17, was an empowerment workshop for youths in the movie and entertainment industry from that area.

They include actors, script writers, movie producers and directors, marketers, costumiers, editors and other crew members within the movie production chain.

In his opening remarks, Executive Director of the National Film and Video Censors Board, Alhaji Adedayo Thomas urged participants to avail themselves of this rear opportunity to carve a niche for themselves within the creative industry.

He noted that the essence of the training was; to develop participants’ interest and understanding of classification; make participants ambassadors of film classification by letting their children know what to watch and watch not to watch; and assist in lobbying policy makers on important classification recommendations.

In a bid to create a solid foundation for the participants, NFVCB’s Zonal Coordinator, South-East, Mr. Hubert Odeh presented a talk on the Rudiments of Classification, giving brief background history and workings of the Board.

Responding on behalf of participants, Chief Ossy Affason of Ossy Affason Distribution Company encouraged filmmakers to always take advantage of such golden opportunities to develop themselves, while urging those within the creative industry to close ranks in order to build a virile and formidable industry.

High point of the workshop was the distribution of grants to participants by the Executive Director of NFVCB.