The Managing Director/CEO, Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), Dr Ali Nuhu, has urged stakeholders in the Nigerian film industry to preserve the nation’s audiovisual heritage in order to ensure future access to cinematic history.
Nuhu made the call at a one-day strategic engagement and workshop for stakeholders in the Archival Studies Master’s Programme on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said the workshop, titled “Empowering Nigerian Audiovisual Heritage Future”, was aimed at assessing programme delivery and retention, ecosystem impact, students’ knowledge level, as well as their satisfaction.
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According to him, there is an urgent need to restore and archive Nigerian motion pictures to protect national memories, artistic expressions, and historical records from extinction.
Nuhu, who is also chairman, National Film Institute Governing Council, said the programme was conceived with the objective of preserving Nigeria’s audiovisual heritage through the development of skilled manpower and relevant policy frameworks.
“The programme is designed to provide in-depth knowledge for the management, preservation, and archiving of creative works and audiovisual materials.
“Our focus is to train students in film culture and archiving management through blended learning approaches, including lectures, workshops, field studies, and practical sessions.
“The specialised areas include restoration, digitisation, preservation, classification, reuse methods, culture promotion, as well as policy and legal frameworks,” he said.
He said the workshop was to also examine the programme’s relevance to film culture promotion and archiving management, and consider a proposed review of its curriculum.
According to him, the engagement is in line with global best practices in meeting minimum standards of learning, knowledge, and skills transfer.
He therefore urged participants to effectively maximise the knowledge gained from the programme in their careers as professionals.
“As we engage in this workshop, I urge you to note that this master’s degree programme is unique, given its hybrid study module.
“Your participation confirms your belief that we have embarked on a journey that posterity will remember.
“Your expertise as policymakers, faculty, archivists, researchers, and culture preservationists will be key to the success of this engagement,” he said.
The NFC helmsman expressed confidence that the new curriculum that will emerge from the workshop would be robust, impactful, and reflective of current and future trends in cultural preservation and audiovisual archiving.
He said the timing of the workshop provided an opportunity to review and strengthen the programme after nearly six years of implementation.
Nuhu appreciated partner institutions, including the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Goethe University, Frankfurt, Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Arts, Berlin, Deutsches Filminstitut and Filmmuseum (DFF), University of Jos,and the Lagos Film Society, for sustaining the programme.
Also speaking, Director of the Swiss National Film Archive, Mr Vinzenz Hediger, said the archive had collaborated with the NFC and the National Film, Video and Sound Archive for over 10 years in training heritage specialists.
Hediger, who is also a professor of Cinematheque Studies, said Nigeria had rich audiovisual collections, particularly in the National Film, Video, and Sound Archive in Jos.
He added that the workshop would strengthen collaboration among institutions, including the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), and the Pan-Atlantic University.
According to him, the aim is to build a network for knowledge and technology transfer to ensure long-term preservation of Nigeria’s audiovisual heritage.
“We are exploring how institutions can support one another through the sharing of knowledge, skills, and personnel.
“We are also discussing how to better train graduates of the master’s programme to meet the needs of these institutions and help protect these collections,” he said.
In his remarks, Executive Director of the NFVCB, Dr Shaibu Husseini, said the workshop was organised by institutions committed to preserving Nigeria’s film and cultural heritage.
Husseini said the engagement would provide a platform to share ideas on effective preservation and digitisation of film archives.
“There are films produced many years ago that are no longer accessible; we need to convert them into formats that can be accessed.
“These institutions have the expertise to support preservation efforts, especially as Nigeria lacks adequate infrastructure and equipment,” he said.
He added that the workshop would foster collaboration among stakeholders to enhance the digitisation and preservation of Nigeria’s audiovisual archives.