Joke Silva, a veteran actress and supporter of Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has urged the Federal Government to create more opportunities for filmmakers to access funds for film production.
Silva, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos, said that the government should intervene in the challenges faced by filmmakers in securing funds for their projects.
She said that the Bank of Industry (BOI) was the main source of funding for filmmakers, but it was not enough.
“Over the years, filmmakers have found it difficult to access funds to produce films, a development government needs to wade into to encourage filmmakers,” she said.
She added that the government should also consider lowering the interest rate and ensuring the repayment of the funds by the filmmakers.
“Accessibility to fund to produce films should not be made too difficult for us, the hurdles are too cumbersome. Effective ways should also be created through which the funds can be returned; so that the source does not get exhausted.
“Government should also not always consider having a high-interest rate, what should be the focus is that the money is returned.
“I advise filmmakers also to realise the need to return such funds so that others can access it,” Silva said.
Silva, who is known for her roles in movies such as “Violated”, “The Meeting” and “Phone Swap”, also called for the establishment of grants for the creative industry to support filmmakers.
“There should also be a place for grants for the creative industry that will give a soft landing to filmmakers, this is needed because businesses must get expanded in the creative space,” she said.
Read Also: Remi Tinubu Donates $100,000 for Medical Center in Sierra Leone
She also appealed to the government to improve the distribution of cinemas and theatrical exhibitions across the country, as a way of boosting the revenue of filmmakers.
She said that the government could provide buses and security for filmmakers to take their works to different locations.
“There are various things that will help distribution of stage plays, to take cinemas round the country will warrant seamless road travels.
“Can the federal government assist with buses and security to take works round the country?
“Government should be able to help the creatives to produce and run their work for longer duration, because it is when works are run for long that the producer generates much revenue,” she said.
Silva, who is also a vocal supporter of Tinubu’s presidential ambition, advised her fellow filmmakers to collaborate more in the face of the economic challenges in the country.
She said that collaboration would help them to pool resources and reach a wider audience.
“While government and the economic team are doing all they can to ensure our economy does not go under, in the creative space, we have to look at strategies that will make us function.
“This is in collaboration, what two practitioners would ordinarily have done to put resources together, four practitioners can do that.
“By collaboration, we will be spreading our net wider, that is the way actors will probably earn more,” she said.