FG grants licensing waiver to community cinemas

The Federal Government has approved a licensing waiver for investors wishing to establish cottage or community cinemas in Nigeria.

Husseini Shaibu, Executive Director/CEO of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

According to the NFVCB boss, the waiver approval was in line with the agenda of Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hanatu Musawa, to provide incentives needed to encourage investment in the creative industry.

He added that the gesture would not only improve revenue generation for the government and the filmmakers but also create many jobs for youths nationwide, fostering a sense of optimism about the industry’s future.

Mr Shaibu said the waiver approval also strongly aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda of presenting a level playing field for investors and ensuring ease of business, reassuring the audience about the government’s commitment to the industry.

“The decision to grant a licensing waiver would have a considerable multiplier effect in the bottom rung of the cinema exhibitor pyramid.

This, along with other incentives the Minister has promised, will undoubtedly fuel the expansion of cinema screens and promote a more comprehensive screening of Nollywood films at the local box office.

“The board has granted provisional approval to an investor to test run a community cinema project for twelve months, following approval by the Minister.

“With favourable results of that experience, the Board has to make recommendations to the minister to grant waivers to stakeholders to open up the film exhibition space, especially for local content,” he said.

The NFVCB helmsman said he had urged stakeholders to consider the establishment of community cinemas to bring cinemagoers in local communities, towns, and villages back to the big screen.

He cited instances in other climes like India, where community cinemas stand alongside sophisticated and large cinemas.

According to him, operators of community cinemas can collaborate with established cinema owners to bring cinema enthusiasts a distinct cinematic experience.

Mr Shaibu hinted that the board had also sent a proposal to the minister to reduce the exhibition and distribution license fees payable by operators, further opening up the business space.

Strategic decisions

He described these policies as intelligent strategic decisions to reignite and stimulate investment in the creative sector.

He restated NFVCB’s commitment to engaging filmmakers and content creators, urging them to submit their films and video works for classification before exhibition, either on traditional or digital platforms.

According to him, the board recently met with stakeholders in Lafia, Nassarawa state, as part of its ongoing efforts to create a strong and united film industry.

“One of the reforms the board has already started implementing is reducing classification time for film and video works.

“We have already reduced duration/ comeback time for film classification to a maximum of 48 hours for full feature films and same-day classification for dramatised short content (skits) and musical videos.

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“We have also introduced online submissions to make things easier for filmmakers and content creators,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that NFVCB is a regulatory body set up by Act No.85 of 1993(now the National Film and Video Censors Board Act Cap No.40 ( 2004 as amended).

The board is empowered by law to regulate Nigeria’s film and video industry and classify all films and videos, whether imported or produced locally.

It is also mandated to register all film and video outlets/cinemas across the country and keep a register of such outlets/cinemas, among other functions.

(NAN)