The Federal Government has approved a license exemption for investors wishing to establish home or community cinemas in Nigeria.
Husseini Shaibu, CEO and CEO of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
According to the head of the NFVCB, the approval of the exemption was in line with the agenda of the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hanatu Musawa, to provide the necessary incentives to encourage investment in the creative industry.
He added that the gesture would not only improve revenue generation for the government and filmmakers but would also create many jobs for youth across the country, fostering a sense of optimism about the future of the industry.
Shaibu said the approval of the exemption also strongly aligned with President Bola Tinubu's agenda of presenting a level playing field for investors and ensuring ease of doing business, reassuring the audience of the government's commitment to the industry.
“The decision to grant a license exemption would have a considerable multiplier effect on the lower rung of the pyramid of cinema exhibitors.
This, along with other incentives promised by the Minister, will undoubtedly boost the expansion of movie theaters and promote fuller screening of Nollywood films at the local box office.
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“The board has granted provisional approval to an investor to trial a community cinema project for twelve months, following approval from the Minister.
“With favorable results from that experience, the Board has to make recommendations to the minister to grant exemptions to interested parties to open the film exhibition space, especially for local content,” he said.
The NFVCB helmsman said he had urged stakeholders to consider setting up community cinemas to bring moviegoers in local communities, cities and towns back to the big screen.
He cited cases in other climes such as India, where community cinemas sit alongside large, sophisticated cinemas.
According to him, community cinema operators can collaborate with established cinema owners to provide cinema enthusiasts with a different cinema experience.
Shaibu hinted that the board had also sent a proposal to the minister to reduce the exhibition and distribution license fees paid by operators, further opening up commercial space.
Strategic decisions
He described these policies as smart strategic decisions to revive and stimulate investment in the creative sector.
He reaffirmed the NFVCB's commitment to engaging filmmakers and content creators, urging them to submit their films and video works for grading before exhibition, whether on traditional or digital platforms.
According to him, the board recently met with stakeholders in Lafia, Nassarawa State, as part of its ongoing efforts to create a strong and united film industry.
“One of the reforms that the board has already begun to implement is the reduction of the classification time for cinematographic and video works.
“We have already reduced the duration/turnaround time for film classification to a maximum of 48 hours for full-length feature films and same-day classification for short dramatized content (sketches) and music videos.
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“We have also introduced online submissions to make things easier for filmmakers and content creators,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NFVCB is a regulatory body created by Act No.85 of 1993 (now National Film and Video Censors Board Act, Cap. No.40 (2004, as amended ).
The board is empowered by law to regulate the Nigerian film and video industry and classify all films and videos, whether imported or locally produced.
It is also mandated to register all film and video establishments/cinemas across the country and maintain a register of such establishments/cinemas, among other functions.
(YAYA)