Women In Film: IWIF Continues to Lead Call for Change in Nollywood

As the Nigerian movie industry, through private ingenuity and creativity, continues to expand and give room to creative expression, the Inkblot Women In Film (IWIF) initiative has bemoaned the lack of structure and access to information.

The IWIF is targeted at studying the various issues that currently affect Nigeria’s film industry. IWIF has been focused on hosting intimate forums where industry practitioners, academics, financiers and stakeholders across the value chain come together to discuss the challenges facing Nollywood and also find viable solutions to these issues.

The conversations, which started since January 2021 have been on for months now, and the May cohort was again at the forefront of efforts to keep the conversation going. In attendance was co-founder, Inkblot Productions and Convener IWIF, Zulumoke Oyibo; actor, Kehinde Bankole; actor, Producer and host, Eku Edewor; Lawyer, Bukki Olabiyi; Producer, Abimbola Craig, Production Designer, Jennifer Anti; Post Producer, Patience Lawal; Producer, Matilda Ogunleye, and Managing Partner of GLG Communications, Omawumi Ogbe.

Some of the issues identified to be standing in the way of the development of the industry include intellectual property, unavailability of information, lack of proper structure, inimical government policies, piracy, reluctance to embrace technology, the role of media and much more.

The Convener IWIF, Zulumoke Oyibo, said it’s important that the right structures are put in place so that international standards and global best practices are adhered to. She also observed that standardisation although a daunting challenge will be a good solution.

“It’s hard for investors to fund the Nigerian film industry because there is no structure. Oftentimes, investors do not have data and cannot see the numbers to tell if a film production will be a viable investment or not,” she said.

Zulumoke also stressed the need for Nollywood practitioners to place a premium on accessible information, noting that this will make investing in the industry and access to funding much easier.

Star actress Kehinde Bankole harped on the need for data to be readily available about the true state of things in the industry. She is of the opinion that this will enhance proper planning and lead to more growth for the industry.

“The very first solution to the major challenges being first in the industry is access to information. There should be a ready place where people can get information and be educated about the goings-on of the industry and the various resources available to filmmakers and actors,” Bankole said.

Another burning issue discussed at the May edition of the IWIF lunch is how cast and crew are not being valued and mostly underpaid. The general consensus was that more needs to be done to boost intellectual property.

“We need to get to a level of professionalism where people are valued and can be easily credited for the work that they do. This is not only for bragging rights, but also to create a work portfolio for themselves and their careers,” a film producer, Abimbola Craig, stated.