The African Film Academy’s Film in a box project, a four-week film training, ended in Alimosho Local Government Area lakes state Thursday.
The creation of Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, Film in a box, saw star actor Keppy Ekpeyong and director Achor Yusuf train over 200 young Nigerians with aspirations to become part of the Nigerian film industry.
A discussion with the facilitators at the end of the training revealed that the Alimosho participants accepted the teachings and opportunities provided.
The event was held in collaboration with the Lagos State Government under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
AMA founder Peace Anyiam-Osigwe receives a portrait from one of the participants.
Speaking about the progress and overview of the training, Mr. Ekpeyong said, “We had a mandate to train a minimum of 250 participants in three local government areas, so we stopped here in Alimosho.
Initially, we did not expect what we found; We were shocked and surprised by the reception.
“I think Alimosho changed facilitators because we have developed people who have become what they want to be. Some really passionately and by the second week they were amazing. We had people who came in shy, crying or mute, but right now, we have artists.”
On the expectations of the contestants, the actor said, “We are very happy that there are more people here who would make it as actors out of mediocrity, out of social media hype, we have a lot of great people here in about six strong areas. . ”
AMA founder Peace Anyiam-Osigwe addresses Film in a box participants
Another facilitator and film director, Achor Yusuf, expressed surprise and delight at the talent and dedication of the participants.
Mr. Achor said: “Over time we will all see the impact on the Nigerian film industry because I see the excitement and enthusiasm that the participants showed.”
Sylvia Chiwendu, a participant, shared her experience during the four weeks of training.
The 22-year-old, who majored in screenwriting, said the experience has been inspiring.
She said: “It’s exciting and I learned a lot from our facilitators. My main lesson is learning the movie business.”
For Samuel Sawyerr, the movie-in-a-box project and the AMA training came at a difficult time in his life. “The movie in a box found me at a time when I was almost losing myself. I was at home thinking about how to take the next step in my career, I saw the ad online and signed up. Although I thought it was a hoax or a scam until I received the email admitting me to the training. It’s been amazing,” he said.
Film in a box participants in a training Justification
Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, Executive Director of the Africa Movie Academy and founder of the Africa Movie Academy Awards, AMAA, was also seen on the last day of the training.
Ms. Anyiam-Osigwe engaged the participants in a mini-meeting at the town hall.
There he addressed various issues and the need for participants to be firm in their resolution to become film practitioners.
In a conversation with the media, Ms. Anyiam-Osigwe revealed AMA’s plans to invest time and resources in trainees.
He also thanked the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the State Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism.
“This is six weeks of training, and they’ve done four weeks of training and learning and will be doing internships. That means shooting a movie for the next two weeks. It’s an exciting time, especially with the students we’ve had here at Alimosho.
“We’ve taken it from the basics and taken them through the rudiments of the movie business. It’s been interesting to see the amount of talent we’ve found. We have identified several real talents that will go on and do amazingly well in the industry. From Alimosho, we would move to Badagry.”
Organizers said the initiative would deliberately turn youth restlessness into productive enterprises.