Next Gen Evolve: Joy Odiete Hosts Conference for Young Filmmakers

Mary Nnah

West Africa’s foremost film distribution company, Blue Pictures is set for the second edition of her biennial industry interactive forum, ‘Next Gen Mini Conference’, designed to give wings to aspiring professionals in the film and content creation business.

Slated to take place from 10 am on October 26, 2023, at The Marriot Hotel, Ikeja, this edition with the theme, ‘Next Gen Evolve’,  is being held in partnership with the Nigerian International Film and TV Summit, and targets students and future professionals in areas like film producing, movie critiquing, directing, film financing, marketing and content creation.

Some of the notable professionals billed to speak at the day-long industry event include Adedayo Thomas (CEO, National Film and Video Censors Board), Uche Nwuka (Director, Bank of Industry), Patrick Donald Lee (Executive, Viva Cinemas), Chris Odeh (Senior Producer, Sozo Films), Mary Ephraim (President, Homelands Films) as well as Tochukwu ‘Dr Foy’ MacFoy (Founder, Energize Music).

Aside from offering creative Nigerian youths the opportunity to network with established film professionals, one of the highlights of the programme is the ‘pitch session’, where possible co-production deals would be struck for making and marketing of film and TV content ideas.

The convener of the initiative and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Pictures, Joy Efe Odiete, who said the conference is open to brands for sponsorships and partnerships enjoined Nigerian youths to visit the online portal of the event for free registration to participate at the event, created by Blue Pictures to help youths understand their way around the film industry. According to her, “The essence of the conference is to provide a platform for the youths to interact with personalities that have the wherewithal to sharpen their careers in the film business. It was inspired by my experience when I joined the industry because there was nobody to lean on for mentorship. So this conference is designed to provide the support starters would need to fit into the industry. We hold it biennially, so we could have time to prepare those with successful pitches before taking on a new batch”. 

While participation is free, guests are requested to register via the event portal.