Dike Onwuamaeze
The Mastercard Foundation, in collaboration with KAP Film and Television Academy will train 300,000 Nigerian young people in film, television, and motion picture production over the next three years.
The Mastercard disclosed this in a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday, which stated that 50 per cent of the participants in the training would be made up of women in order to ensure strong female participation.
The training would include Masterclass Series, which is a virtual series of 20 episodes that would provide e-learning to aspiring filmmakers and also cover several aspects of filmmaking from directing, cinematography, and the business of film using the acclaimed movie, ‘The Figurine,’ as a case study.
The statement noted that the virtual series of the Figurine would be free to watch on KAPtv’s YouTube channel.
The programme would also include two levels of certifications from professional institutions in the areas of screenwriting, sound, editing, directing, cinematography and production design, among others as well as practical hands-on training.
It would also link participants to employment or gig entrepreneurship activities, not only in the film industry via placements and internships, but in related sub-sectors such as fashion, make-up, music scores, editing, and script writing.
It stated that the applications would be received from prospective participants that are between 18 and 35 years while selection would be based on a one-minute video pitch that would be used to assess the level of skill, passion, and socio-economic status of each applicant.
The Mastercard Foundation, and its Young Africa Works program in Nigeria, would offer young people from less privileged backgrounds that enrolled in the programme free tuition and the tools required for digital learning and smartphone devices.
The Nigeria Country Head of the Mastercard Foundation, Ms. Chidinma Lawanson added: “The Nigerian film industry (Nollywood) produces approximately 20,000 films annually and generates estimated revenues of up to US$600 million. It is the largest film industry in Africa and the third largest globally, after Hollywood and Bollywood.
“Despite this growth and scale, many important aspects of the industry remain informal and fragmented. As a result, very few practitioners can reach their full potential creatively and economically.
“The Foundation’s partnership with KAP has the potential to enable at least 102,500 work opportunities for youth in the vibrant creative industry in Nigeria.”
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of KAP Academy, Mr. Kunle Afolayan, who is also the producer of “The Figurine,” stated that the academy would leverage on smartphone technology to organise the training that would be conducted through a learning app.
Afolayan said: “The KAP App is a mobile learning application where multimedia content, which includes video and audio lessons, visual presentations, video simulations, and interactive testing, will be delivered to the students. It will allow students to have access to interactive learning content, industry professionals, community forums, an electronic library, a job board, financial support, contacts, and links among others.
“The academy focuses on growing the next generation of skilled filmmakers through the tutelage of veterans and film professionals who provide hands-on experience in diverse aspects of filmmaking to enrolled students.”
