By  Benjamin Njoku

Alex Eyengho, former President, Association of Nollywood Core Producers, ANCOP,  has described  2023 as a game changer both for him and the movie industry.

“For starters, the year puts me on the path of earning my third Master degrees, this time, an MSc in Film Production from the prestigious School of Media and Communication of the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos.

This is, of course, courtesy of a full scholarship from Netflix. Apart from the fact that I have now moved to the league of elite practitioners in the industry who have been able to marry town and gown, this ultimate certification as a filmmaker means a lot to me. Netflix is my benefactor. I now see myself as an ambassador of the organization and leading streaming brand in the world.

“There are a few other goals I set for myself between the last quarter of 2022 and 2023, which I can say here that I achieved most, while the rest are work in progress. For instance, I had hoped to kick off the maiden edition of the Warri International Film Festival (WARRIFF) and two other festivals in 2023 but had to push these to 2024, to enable me have a wow events that would help in further deepening the Nollywood brand and the Nigerian creative industries generally.”

Eyengho also stated that the movie industry fared well in 2023, as the key practitioners kept pushing the envelope and raising the bar in terms of quality content productions.

“Nollywood broke more into the international space. Film festivals are beginning to find their bearing, particularly with the formation of the Nigerian Film Festivals Association (NFFA), which is an umbrella self-regulatory body with all the attendant benefits. “The entire value chain became more energized in 2023. Though there were some downsides here and there, particularly in the attempt by the current leadership of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to forcefully colonize the associations and guilds in the industry through divide and rule tactics and other measures unknown to the NFVCB Act and Regulations, things could only have been better in 2023.

“In 2024, I look forward to a better cohesion among the practitioners, particularly the guilds and associations who presently represent the loose structure of the industry. Therefore, I urge the current supervisory Minister of Nollywood to immediately exhume the Motion Picture Council of Nigeria, MOPICON, document, push it to the National Assembly as an Executive bill, and make sure it is passed into law for the common good of the industry. If this is done for the industry in 2024, every other great thing shall follow in quick succession,” Eyengho said.