Nollywood Travel Festival unveiled
A new festival has been unveiled for the Nigerian film industry.
This is the Nollywood Travelling Festival by Mykel Parish and Rogers Ofime.Speaking recently on the essence of the festival, Parish said the Nigerian movie sector was one that practitioners should be proud of and showcase everywhere in the world.
He noted by taking the country’s film and tourism around globally, they would earn more fans and money.
Parish said, “Nollywood is the bedrock of films in Africa. But more people need to know what we are doing. Many of our films are already exposed by pirates. In Canada, some people said they watched Nollywood more than they did Hollywood. So, this festival will strengthen this position and help producers to sell more films across the globe.”
A seasoned film critic and judge, Shaibu Husseini, who is one of the festival’s resource persons, said there were few travel festivals in the world. But, according to him, there is none in Africa. He thus expressed delight that Nollywood was breaking the jinx.
“It will properly internationalise Nollywood. It will change the perspectives that Nollywood is about quantity and not quality as it will expose very good works from Nigeria, unlike the cheap ones that many would have seen. When we take our best films out, the perspective will definitely change. Of course, the festival will also give our film-makers more opportunity to travel,” Husseini added.
Other stakeholders that joined Parish and his partner at O’Jez Club, Surulere, Lagos, venue of the unveiling, noted that it was good for all sectors of the country’s entertainment industry.
The maiden edition of the Nollywood Travel Festival will hold in Toronto, Canada, between May 5 and 7 next year.
