By Isaac Aimurie and Henry Oqua
The Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, on Monday played host to the executives and members of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) who are in Benin City, the State capital for the Nollywood Actors Summit 2022 in partnership with Edo State Skills Development Agency (EdoJobs).
Welcoming participants to the event, Obaseki described Edo State as the citadel of arts in Africa and assured that his administration is ready to sustain the partnership with the movie makers on the ongoing development of the Benin Cultural District as well as the Film Village being planned for the State.
He urged the Actors Guild to prioritize the development of Nigerian youths to harness their talent and mainstream them in the money-spinning sector.
“Edo is Arts and art is Edo” the Governor declared and added that Edo people have art and creativity as natural endowments which he is committed to harnessing for the overall development of the State.
He listed the Benin Film Festival; the ongoing development of a Cultural District in Benin City that will house three world-class museums, a pavilion and spaces for creative people amongst other features; the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub and Sound Stage; the recently launched Benin Digital Museum, the partnership with ROCK Studios, as some achievements by his six-year-old administration in the sector.
He sought the collaboration of the Nollywood actors in the ongoing redesign of basic school curriculum in the State’s education sector to attract talented children to the movie industry.
“We want to introduce our children to acting and the acting industry. Our ministry of education will meet with the Guild to fine-tune our curriculum to support those children that are interested in acting.
“The designs for the Film Village are ready and we are set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the world-class film village that will be built on a 30-acre property that will be connected to the Edo Independent Power Plant.
“We are clearly ready to support the film industry. We are going to be providing incentives for actors that want to produce here in terms of accommodation, transportation and location to get cheaper rates of production as we want you to produce quality masterpieces,” Obaseki said.
In his remarks, the president of Actors Guild of Nigeria, Ejezie Emeka Rollas, said: “This summit is designed as a platform where practitioners, stakeholders and technocrats converge to discuss the future of our industry with the aim of rediscovering the uniqueness of the acting profession, provide the enabling environment for practitioners to thrive and help enhance its contributions to the creative economy.”
He further said that “the choice of the theme for this year’s summit “Impact Of Digital Technology On Acting Profession” was informed by the fact that we are in the digital age and this has placed Actors in unique position to tap into the opportunities of the emerging digital economy with emphasis on new concepts, discipline, identity and relationships.
“Acting in digital age requires adapting to new trends, understanding the standards and all the digital support systems. The digitalization will also help our drive towards social impact movies not just to create job opportunities for our members but also to help stimulate, inspire and motivate positive attitude towards national unity and development.
“As the digital technology evolves, Social impact movies can reach wider audience to inform and inspire change through engaging and reflecting the society. It will help unite people with its added power to help foster positive change.”
In his welcome speech, Chairman, Actors Guild of Nigeria Edo State Chapter, Osagie Elegbe, commended the Governor for hosting the actors’ summit and elevating the creative sector with the huge investment in the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub and Sound Stage, amongst other achievements.
The star-studded event has Nollywood stars such as Joke Silver, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Patrick Doyle, Ace Producer Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, amongst others.
