Nigeria: Board to review laws and movie censorship fee

The National Film and Video Censors Board, NFVCB, says it will review the law backing the board and movie censorship fee in Nigeria.

The NFVCB Executive Secretary Mr. Adedayo Thomas made this known at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos recently.

Thomas said that the NFVCB laws would be reviewed to further professionalise the creative industry, position it to be self-regulated, and reduce government involvement.

He said; “We want to work on reviewing our laws which have not been tampered with for over 20 years and this will be done soon.” 

Thomas said that the review was necessary given the recent notification from the Ghana Film Authority (GFA), stating that Nigerian filmmakers should always get permission before shooting movies in the country.

He, therefore, stressed that Nigeria needed to create laws that would permit foreigners to get necessary permission before shooting movies within the country.

He noted that the board would love the creative industry to be self-regulated to reduce the involvement of government.

”It has come to our notice that as an actor, movie producer, director, cinematographer, script writer, and all operators in the creative space, you cannot shoot your movies in Ghana without permission from the GFA.

“A letter was sent from Ghana to all embassies and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs who sent it to the Minister of Information and was passed to me.

“We need to work more on being self-regulated…It has become necessary for every genuine operator in the creative industry to belong to a professional guild or association just as we have been advocating,” he said.

The President, of the Association of Movie Producers, Peace Ayiam-Osigwe, said that the creative industry had contributed immensely to the Gross Domestic Product in Nigeria over the years.

Anyiam-Osigwe said that the association should be given some time to consult with its members on the proposed increment in movie censorship fees.

Also, the National President, of the Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria, Mr. Ahmad Sarari advised NFVCB to design different percentages for movie distributors, producers, and exhibitors.

Another stakeholder, Mr. Solomon Arusi, the National Secretary of the Association of Movie Practitioners Incorporation, said that the board should focus on regulating the distribution of films which was the main problem confronting the industry.

Arusi added that the filmmaking industry was capable of attracting over 1.6 trillion annually if the problem of film distribution was tackled.