Moses Babatope highlighted the need for professionalization, increased funding, specialized services, and collaborative efforts to elevate Nollywood.
Despite the undeniable success of the Nollywood film industry, it continues to face challenges that hinder its full potential.
In a recent interview with Pulse Nigeria, co-founder of Filmhouse Group and former managing director of FilmOne, Moses Babatope, addressed some of the industry’s most pressing issues.
For him, inadequate training and next to nothing regarding barriers to entry is one of the major problems the industry is facing.
“We’ve had people just waking up and just saying that they are an actor or they are a producer, with no training whatsoever. It’s hard to knock them because there are people that have demonstrated they can also wake up one day and do it well,” he said.
“Unfortunately because we have those exceptions, it has now become the norm that anybody can just wake up from anywhere and say ‘I’m creative. I’m doing it.’ There are no real rudiments to go through. No real process. No certifications to say, ‘I’m a professional actor. I’m a professional actress. I’m certified in producing and directing.”
Moses Babatope highlighted the need for professionalization, increased funding, specialized services, and collaborative efforts to elevate Nollywood. [Instagram/mosesbabatope]
The 40-year-old film executive also highlighted the need for funding to propel cinema development and fight piracy, a significant issue plaguing the industry.
“Nollywood needs funding in several areas like in cinemas. That’s something that should be taken very seriously because that is the outlet for monetization,” he said.
“We just don’t have enough funding or support to build the cinemas and build them fast enough,” he said.
Babatope brought up the rise of additional film marketing businesses as a way to improve advertising. He also said that tech players and companies are needed in addressing challenges like lack of production insurance.
“I’d like to see more film marketing companies. I would like to see more tech players in the space, tackling a number of problems that we have. We don’t have a proper structure around production insurance,” he said.
He also spoke about the importance of the policies that enable the industry and support from the government to accelerate growth in Nollywood.
“There’s no industry without challenges, if we continue to run the industry in the independent fractured way, then the problems will get more,” he said.
Moses Babatope highlighted the need for professionalization, increased funding, specialized services, and collaborative efforts to elevate Nollywood. Read More
