By Biodun Busari

Filmmaker and founder of the Badagry International Film Cultural and Sports Festival (BIFIF), Viyon Awhanse, has said good storylines can attract funding for Nollywood films.

He added that the investors are attracted not to only good stories, but also filmmakers with track records.

Awhanse made this known while sharing The Badagry Story in a recent interview with Today with John and Helen.

“I’ve worked on production on Netflix and I’ll say the story is very important. There must be a story, a good story. And if taken to the right people, the funding will come,” Awhanse said.

“And once they know that you have a track record. And they see you have done this and that, they will say okay. And they will ask you what is the budget.”

Speaking about his initiatives to develop Badagry for filmmaking, the social crusader said the indigenes of the Lagos border town have been engaged in some programmes.

“There was a stakeholder meeting we engaged our people in tagged ‘the brainstorming meeting.’ We brainstormed, leading to asking questions and providing answers. 

“After that, we began ‘Meet your mentors’. All these were intentional, from ‘meet your mentors’, we bring actors that tell people what to know. 

“By the time started the full project, they already knew what they needed to know. So they know if they do not go to school, they need to learn from the mentorship event that we organise. 

“So, when the auditioning came, we knew who to cast, what to cast, and when to cast. They also knew about the payment in the industry, so they wouldn’t think they were being cheated, and we were able to build trust.”

Awhanse, producer and director of the film Sèblá (2022), has engaged in the production of more than 2,000 episodes of television series including work on premium cable networks.