All Africa
The Guardian (Lagos)
By Florence Utor
In a bid to make the creative industry contribute to the national economy, as well as create jobs for the teeming, unemployed youths, Nigeria has entered discussions with the Moroccan government to develop sustainable bilateral relationship for the promotion of the creative economies of both countries. The discussions are hinged on motion picture co-production treaty between the two countries, including joint film production, documentaries, capacity building, festival development, content sales and access to project funding.
When the expected relationship is sealed through the signing of Bilateral Memorandum of Understanding and Treaty, Nigeria’s creative industry will witness a leap in its growth through the inflow of direct investment, with measurable impact on the economy. It is also intended to fast-track motion picture production and allied activities in Nigeria, including but not limited to the provision of access to online library of Institut Supervieur Des Matiers De L’audiovisual Et Du Cinema (ISMAC) by the National Film Institute (NFI), Jos, student/lecturer exchange programme and scholarship for students of NFI to study in Morocco at Centre Cinematographique Morocain (CCM), and provide NFC with assistance in the digitization of archival materials of the National Film Video and Sound Archive. Others include training and capacity building for Nigerian television/film professionals and broadcast stations at the 2M Maroc and participation and mounting of Moroccan Day at Nigeria’s foremost film festival, ZUMA, scheduled to hold in Abuja from December 1 – 5 among other benefits.
