October 15, (THEWILL) – The Lagos State government has resolved to build an African Film City worth $100 million African Film City before the end of this month. The project, which will be sited in Epe, is intended to enhance originality in content creation in Nollywood – Nigeria’s film industry. Recall that the state government in October last year, announced that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Del-York Group for the construction of the project. Del-York Group is being promoted by Linus Idahosa, husband to Nollywood actress, Stephanie Idahosa. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed that the state government would be doubling the capacity-building support for talented young industry players to enhance their skills in modern filmmaking.
He said, “We will be doing the groundbreaking for the African Film City before the end of this month. It is a $100 million project to be sited on 100 hectares of land in Epe. Lagos is taking the lead in promoting sustainable growth in the creative industry. The first set of studios will be up on the site in the next 24 months after the groundbreaking.
“We are also going to be doubling the State Government’s support for the training of young industry players. We will also double the grants being given to creative young talents for the production of short stories. We have supported over 5,000 people in the creative sector with different kinds of capacity-building opportunities and film production grants to scale up the numbers in the sector.
The governor urged practitioners to use their ingenuity to create Africanised content that would change the continent’s socio-cultural narrative, adding that through this, the world would know Nigeria is ready.
“Lagos State Government, by itself, bears all the hallmarks of excellence in all aspects. Excellence starts from everything we can imagine; the creative community sits right in the middle of that. As a government, we have committed to anything that puts Nigeria on the global map and supports our creative citizens on the world stage.”
Ivory Ukonu is a versatile journalist with many years of experience, with entertainment and society reporting as her area of core competence.
