The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has embarked on confiscation and destruction exercise of illegal films and videos across the nation as a measures to compliment the federal government Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). The measure was also meant to resuscitate the national film making industry.

Speaking during the public burning of the illegal films confiscated by the board in Kano, Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, Executive Director of the NFVCB, said investors in the film industry in Nigeria had suffered losses among other financial difficulties as a result of smuggling of unclassified works through unlicensed agents and distributors.

According to him, in order to combat the menace of illicit and unapproved movies and videos, 150 staff of the board were trained at various police colleges across the nation to ensure improvement on their operations.

“These actions have helped to tackle the critical and impeding issues of infringement on proprietary rights, bootlegging of movies and other illicit acts in the film industry, recently leading to massive raid and confiscation of illegal films and video works worth over N800m,” he said.

Similarly, in his remark the national President of Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN), Dr Ahmad Sarari called for a law that will compel cinemas to have 70% local content in the list of films they show.

The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and the Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of Nigeria (CIPPON) have renewed their commitment to fine-tuning the regulatory regime to enhance copyright protection in the book industry as part of a comprehensive anti-piracy plan.

At a consultative meeting held by John O. Asein, Director-General of NCC, and Olugbemi Malomo, President of CIPPON, in Lagos recently, both regulatory agencies underscored the need to review and intensify effective workings of the copyright system, particularly the book publishing industry to ensure appropriate copyright clearance and instil best practices that would enhance the value chain in the sector.

DG, NCC, Mr. Asein, decried the spate of piracy in the book industry and informed that the Commission would work closely with major players in the copyright value chain in a bid to maintain acceptable standard.

He commended CIPON and its leadership for “identifying the broken bridges that need to be fixed” in order to restore the pride of printing as a critical component of the book industry.

The Director-General noted further that printing has a special place in the historical evolution of the copyright system over four centuries ago and still remains a lynchpin in the publishing industry.

He assured that appropriate mechanisms should be put in place to sieve genuine printers from pirates who only masquerade as printers.

Earlier, the President of CIPPON, Mr Olugbemi Malomo, had assured that CIPPON would support the anti-piracy drive of NCC to ensure that piracy was brought to the barest minimum in the book sector.

According to the CIPPON President, “We want to learn from what is on ground and see the area where we can collaborate and be able to achieve our aim as a common goal of identifying and removing pirates because that is the key thing.” He described his visit to the Commission as a first step in exploring areas of collaboration between CIPPON and NCC.

The CIPPON President stated, “The book production process has a huge supply chain. There have been instances when books are imported and when they got to Nigeria, pirated ones also came to Nigeria. So basically, we want to change that narrative. We believe that books should be categorised. That is our point of view as regulators.”

Mr. Malomo remarked, “You cannot seriously talk about Nigerian growth, Nigerian civilization and the enlightenment that Nigerians enjoy without reckoning with the role of printers because printers have always been a major block in the transmission of information in the growth of education, in the provision of enlightenment.

“So to a large extent, printers are still very relevant; whether in the offset era, in the improved technology era or in the digital era, we still have printers taking on different assignments. So, they are very key and to that extent, we are happy to start a conversation.”

Speaking further, the DG NCC, Mr. Asein stated, “We will move to the next level where we will engage further with your executive and Advisory Council. Then, we would move further to the level of addressing all printers. In the course of that, we would develop the right mechanisms and the right protocol to ensure that we are able to separate the wheat from the chaff.”

He charged the CIPPON President to keep a data of those the Institute regulates and informed that the Commission would commence full enforcement of the requirements of the Copyright Act to ensure that every producer of works keeps a register of works produced as mandated under section 14 of the Act.

Mr. Asein stated, “We already have an obligation under the Copyright Act to ensure that people who are producing copyright works keep registers. So we are sending out a clear message that henceforth, the Nigerian Copyright Commission will enforce the provisions of the Act requiring the keeping of registers.

“For instance, every printer should have a register of works that he or she is printing. I am sure today, we will have more in default than compliance. So we will soon begin to enforce compliance and prosecute offenders.”

He expressed concern over the prevalence of imported pirated works, which he described as double jeopardy.

“That is an area right owners would want Government to look into; with the help of the Customs Service, we will monitor the ports and block the inflow of these pirated materials. If we stem piracy then more publishers will be encouraged to patronise local printers. That way, we can save jobs and Nigeria would someday become a printing hub for the region”, he added.

Mr. Asein expressed hope that something would be done to revive the paper production industry to make printing in Nigeria more competitive and reduce dependence on foreign printing.

Consequent upon the deliberations, a four-man technical committee comprising NCC and CIPPON staff members would be inaugurated to, among other things, deliberate on the framework and modalities for future cooperation between NCC and CIPPON.

MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF), the creative shared value initiative of MultiChoice, is set to host Masterclasses on Acting for Camera in the West African sub-region.

The Masterclasses will take place in Lagos on 28 January and in Accra, Ghana, on 30 January.

The one-day Masterclasses will have as facilitator Denny. Y. Miller, international award-winning director.

Speaking on the Masterclasses, Femi Odugbemi, MTF Academy Director (West Africa) said, Miller, who won awards for directing Isibaya and Swartwater, will be at both masterclasses to teach participants drawn from industry groups in new techniques in acting for camera.

Miller, who has been in television for over 25 years, started his career in the television and film industry at the age of 19 when he worked as part of the crew in Egoli- Place of Gold.

Surrounded by notable talent in the industry and some of the best technicians, he acquired experience that would leave him passionate about directing for television.

Miller directed season one of Nigeria’s longest-running soap opera Tinsel, mentoring a cast and crew that had little or no experience in the genre.

He was also the creative director and director on two seasons of Moments with Mo, a hit Nigerian talk show, and wrote as well as directed Kenya’s first talent search reality series, The Presenter.

Odugbemi explained that the masterclasses, which will involve actors, actresses and directors will ensure industry players to understand that imagery matters more than words in performance.

“These actors and directors would channel their emotions in a more powerful way when they comprehend the dynamics of acting with camera and not acting for camera,” he stated.

He also pointed out that MultiChoice will continue to improve the skills personnel in the Nigerian film and television industry and that the MTF Masterclasses will eventually deliver a more professionalized and networked film/ television industry across Africa by expanding the community of highly skilled professionals in indigenous content creation.

Last week, Ari de Beer, an award-winning Steadicam operator, facilitated a well-attended one-day MTF Masterclass in Steadicam operations. It had in attendance seasoned camera operators, who received certificates of participation.

Participants at the Acting for Camera Masterclasses are required to have a minimum of 5 years’ experience as actors/ actresses and will be drawn from across the industry spectrum in Nigeria and Ghana.