By Joshua Olomu

The National Film and Video Censors Board(NFVCB) has provided hands-on training for Kannywood filmmakers on innovative know-how for film production and distribution in the digital era.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kannywood is an epithet for Hausa-language cinema, a part of the larger Nigerian cinema, known as Nollywood.

The training was part of an interactive conference tagged ‘NFVCB meets Kannywood” held from Oct. 23 to 24 at the Kannywood TV Hall in Kano.

Filmmakers, including directors, producers, cinematograpers, editors, actors and skit makers drawn from the region were part of participants for the two- day event, with seasoned industry practitioners as resource persons.

The thematic contents of the training included production, cinematograpy and directing, with master class sessions by representatives of Tik tok and YouTube on distribution and monetisation of contents on digital platforms.

Dr Shaibu Husseini, the Executive Director/CEO of NFVCB, told NAN on the sideline that the conference was part of the board’s commitment to stakeholders engagement as a regulator.

He said the training was aimed at bridging Knowledge gap in filmmaking and distribution for industry players in Kannywood.

“To make our jobs as a regulator easier, we need to engage with our stakeholders, and from when I was appointed, this engagement has been one of my cardinal objectives.

“We have gone to the East, I have been visiting the Southwest in some way, and we have now said there is a huge industry in the North and nobody is giving them attention.

“As a regulator, distribution is key to us and we thought that we could get the distribution platforms to come around and see how they can help put money in the hands of filmmakers.

“We are telling them that as they are creating contents, there are strategies for making money on those platforms, and the idea is to empower the average filmmaker, so that he can be self-independent.

“That is why we came here and I have promised them that we are coming back, but that time it will be in collaboration with the Nigerian Film Corporation.

“That is going to be from Script to Screen training where they will produce and premiere a film and we will help them on how to distribute it,” he said.

Dr Ahmad Sarari, Managing Director of Kannywood TV and co-host of the event, lauded NFVCB for the initiative ,adding that the training was a springboard towards bridging existing knowledge gaps for filmmakers.

Sarari, a one-time National President of Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN), urged participants to diligently apply all they were thoughts to ensure that marketable films were produced.

“Every industry has challenges, and one of the challenge we have here is a huge knowledge gap in filmmaking , and we are doing everything possible to make sure our people are much more enlightened.

“We understand we have a knowledge gap and everybody want to make that shift to catch up , that is why we thank NFVCB and the digital platforms who supported this training,” he said.

NAN reports that the highpoint of the event was the screening of short films on “Unity in Diversity” for a competitive entry.

Five winners emerged with each receiving cash prizes and content creation starter packs, comprising tripod, ring light, speaker and backdrop.

Sanusi Danyaro, a content creator and movie director emerged the best winner and clinched N100,000 cash as grand prize in addition to shooting equipment. (NAN)