Female winners clear NFC prizes
Abiola Olagunju, Attah Magaret Ojochide and Chinyere Onyekwere, have emerged winners in the 2006/2007 edition of the annual Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), essay competition.
The trio, all female, came first, second and third respectively and was among the 53 who submitted entries for the competition with the topic, “Motion Picture and the Nigerian Image.” A statement by Brian Etuk, NFC's Head of Public Affairs, disclosed that of the 53 entries received, four were disqualified for not meeting the criteria for the competition. According to him, entries for the 2006/2007 edition surpassed that of the 2005/2006 edition which indicates that more Nigerians are beginning to identify with the motion picture industry.
Receiving the results from the seven man committee that vetted the essays, the Managing Director of the NFC, Mr. Afolabi Adesanya, stated that he was impressed by the level of participation in the competition.
According to Adesanya, the NFC has instituted various programmes and projects aimed at eliciting appropriate responses from stakeholders and members of the public, with the objective of assisting the corporation articulate recommendations which are being used in the formulation of policies that promote the development of the Nigerian motion picture industry.
For emerging winners at the essay competition, Abiola Lagunju, Attah Margaret and Chinyere Onyekwere have won for themselves cash prizes of N100,000, N75,000 and N50,000. The prizes will be presented to them within the first quarter of the year. In another development, the training arm of the NFC, the National Film Institute (NFI), recently organized orientation programme for its newly admitted students.
The orientation programme which took place at the institute's premises in Jos, on Monday, 22 January 2007, had in attendance parents, lecturers, filmmakers, management and staff of the NFC. The orientation exercise which is part of NFI's admission requirements was to get the new students acquainted with the institute's operations and provide them with the right frame of mind towards the pursuit of academic and social life. Mr. Adesanya, Managing Director of the NFC who addressed the students told them that the profession of filmmaking remains is an herculean one that requires discipline, hard work, persistence with focus on set goals and targets.
Describing artistes as a “rare breed”, Adesanya stressed that success can only be attained in filmmaking if practitioners (students) are able to develop a “sound mind and body”, which he described as prerequisite for becoming determined and focused. He also charged the new students to be proactive and resourceful, for in his words “you have come at a time when facilities at the institute are being improved to further enhance training and professionalism in film making”. The sound stage studio and photo laboratory complex under construction at the institute, the NFC boss said, are a demonstration of the willingness of government to continue to provide adequate, enhanced and practical film training environment for film students.
In her welcome address, the Director of the NFI, Dr (Mrs.) Mercy Sokomba, enjoined the students to be hard working and dedicated in the pursuit of their careers in filmmaking. The institute's academic calendar and curriculum, she said, had been structured in a manner that will enhance academic learning and excellence as well engender a sense of belonging among the students, their lecturers and their host environment.