Emeka Rollas, the President, Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), has said that the maiden edition of the Youth Educational Film Festival (YEFF) will showcase films for education, value re-orientation and youth empowerment.
He stated this on Tuesday at the Pre-YEFF Stakeholders meeting in Abuja.
The festival scheduled to hold in September is organised by AGN in collaboration with the Abuja Film Village (AFV) and the group “I am the Future of Nigeria Youth Initiative”.
Rollas said that the meeting was to seek the inputs, ideas and suggestions of relevant stakeholders towards ensuring maximum participation of youths.
He added that the meeting was to ensure that relevant government agencies in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) rally support for the festival.
“The objective of the Youth Educational Film Festival is to provide a channel for educators and filmmakers in Nigeria to share ideas and methods towards promoting educational contents.
“Therefore, the essence of having the youth educational film festival is to provide a platform for young filmmakers to showcase their talents, foster creativity, promote education and stimulate critical thinking among youths.
“We strongly believe that Nollywood is a viable tool for transformation and will help reduce some vices in our society,” he said.
Rollas added that the event intended to showcase films that would educate and inform the teeming youths through screenings, workshops, discussions and cultural activities.
According to him, the target group for the festival are children, adolescents, youths, as well as teachers in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions and their families.
In his remarks, Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, Executive Director/CEO of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) described the YEFF as “unprecedented”.
According to Thomas, the Board will do everything within its reach to support this vision.
Earlier, Mrs Noni Okocha, Chief Executive Officer of “I am the Future of Nigeria Youth Initiative” explained that the films selected from the project would focus on addressing disturbing national issues.
According to her, the films will address illegal migration, drug abuse, domestic violence, child and sexual abuse, among others.
She called on the government at all levels to support the initiative and ensure that their youths participate in it.
The pre-event stakeholders meeting had in attendance representatives of relevant MDAs, including the Federal Ministry of Education, National Film and Video Censors Board, Nigerian Film Corporation and the National Library.
Others include the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, FCT Universal Basic Education Board and the FCT Secondary Education Board, among others.
