By Efe Onodjae

Renowned Nigerian filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan under his Productions company (KAP) has explained his partnership with the U.S Embassy to train aspiring filmmakers. The partnership was announced at a media briefing on Tuesday at the KAP Village in Ikeja, Lagos.

The initiative aims to empower young Nigerian filmmakers through a four-day workshop focused on movie directing and cinematography. It was also facilitated by two renowned facilitators from the United States, Angel Kristi Williams and Erin G. Wesley.

“:When the opportunity to partner with this US Embassy came, we felt we could merge the capacity building training. Because our focus is the young people. But Reel Circle is for everybody,” he said.

“This is just one of our initiatives. We have a partnership with the French embassy. We just completed one with a German company. We have also held training for 10,000 youths. Some of these people work permanently in-house for us. For me, that is a success story,” Afolayan said.

The partnership between KAP Film & Television Academy and the U.S. Embassy is designed to empower aspiring filmmakers in Nigeria by offering benefits, such as In-depth training from seasoned U.S. professionals in directing and cinematography and Certification of Completion that adds to your credentials and can open doors in the film industry.

At the ceremony, Afolayan said the partnership was initiated during his recent visit to the United States.

The 50-year-old award-winning producer said the training aims to nurture the next generation of Nigerian filmmakers by providing hands-on experience to top US industry professionals.

He also highlighted the academy’s other partnerships, including ones with the French embassy and a German company, which have enabled training for 10,000 youths.

Angel Williams, the US-based writer and director, and Erin Wesley, the American visual artist and cinematographer, were selected as tutors. The training will be held between November 12 and 16.

Will Stevens, the US consul general in Nigeria, described the partnership as a continuation of shared culture between the two countries.

“As an American diplomat, I feel deeply, the power of our culture and how the United States has benefitted for many decades, the power of culture and that has helped how people perceive the United States for better and for worse but it also led to increased interest in visiting and doing business in the United States,” he said.

Sola Sobowale, Tunde Kelani, Steve Sodiya, and Ope Ajayi were among the notable persons who attended the event