FG grants licensing waiver to community cinemas 

The Federal Government has approved a licensing waiver for investors wishing to establish cottage or community cinemas in Nigeria.

Dr. Husseini Shaibu, Executive Director/CEO of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

According to the NFVCB boss, the waiver approval was in line with the agenda of Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hanatu Musawa, to provide incentives needed to encourage investment in the creative industry.

He added that the gesture would improve revenue generation for the government and the filmmakers, and as well create jobs for youths across the country.

Husseini said the waiver approval was also in line with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda of presenting a level playing field for investors and ensuring ease of doing business.

“The decision to grant a licensing waiver would have a huge multiplier effect in the bottom rung of the cinema exhibitor pyramid.

“This and other incentives the Minister has promised will, no doubt, fuel the expansion of cinema screens and promote wider screening of Nollywood films at the local box office.

“The board has granted a provisional approval to an investor to test run a community cinema project for a period of twelve months, following an approval by the Minister,

“With favorable results of that experience, the Board has to make recommendations to the minister to grant waivers to stakeholders to open up the film exhibition space, especially for local content,” he said.

The NFVCB helmsman said he had urged stakeholders to consider the establishment of community cinemas to bring cinemagoers in local communities, towns, and villages back to the big screen.

He cited instances in other climes like India, where there are community cinemas standing side by side with the sophisticated and large cinemas.

According to him, operators of community cinemas can collaborate with established cinema owners to bring a distinct cinematic experience to cinema enthusiasts.

Husseini hinted that the board had also sent a proposal to the minister for a reduction in the exhibition and distribution license fees payable by operators to further open up the business space.

He described these policies as smart strategic decisions to reignite and stimulate investment in the creative sector.

He restated NFVCB’s commitment towards engaging filmmakers and content creators on the need for them to submit their films and video works for classification before exhibition either on the traditional or digital platforms.

According to him, the board recently held stakeholders a meeting with stakeholders in Lafia, Nassarawa state as part of its ongoing efforts to have a strong and united film industry.

“One of the reforms that the board has already started implementing is the reduction in classification time for film and video works.

“We have already reduced duration/ comeback time for film classification to a maximum of 48 hours for full feature films and same-day classification for dramatised short content (skits) and musical videos.

“We have also introduced online submissions to make things easier for filmmakers and content creators,” he said.