Recently, the Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji
Lai Mohammed, in inaugurating a committee to review a decade-old draft of what
is generally described as the MOPICON Bill, lifted the lid of a simmering pot
of anxiety and discontent in the film industry. With the review’s submission
imminent, I engaged eminent film scholar and Nollywood
enthusiast, Dr. Jude Akudinobi, of the University of California, Santa Barbara,
in extensive exchanges. The following are excerpts, in relation to some key
contentions around the Bill:
UMU: Why are expectations on
the proposed MOPICON Bill so high?
JA: With the industry being consolidated into the national economy,
stakes could not be higher and the initiative more timely. In principle, an
entity, not regulatory body, which will work to integrate the industry fuller
into the economy, boost private sector investments, ensure constitutional
rights to creative expression, and so on, is pertinent. Nollywood is faced with
shrinking profits, caused by piracy, policy, operational and regulatory lapses;
so, discerning long-term development and investment plans are needed to
maintain its competitive edge.
What, then, can one make of the contentions between
industry members about the Bill?
Those are
indicative of current afflictions, even tribulations, that do not augur well
for the industry. If MOPICON comes into existence, it must focus on harmonizing
the diversity of voices, visions, even idiosyncratic dispositions, not boxing
in or boxing out certain creative impulses or prerogatives. Some, like CJ
Obasi, Steve Gukas, Seke Somolu, among others, who have drawn attention to
problematic aspects of the Bill have, regrettably, been vilified. Insofar as
reviews are about critical examinations, all opinions, whether complimentary or
contrary, should be taken into consideration.
Could you share those problematic aspects and your
thoughts about them?
It depends on how
much time each can spare, as there are elements in that Bill which would
subject the nation to ridicule and may, ultimately, sound a death-knell for the
industry. A few salient ones include prospects of jail terms, fines, power to
regulate and control professional practice in the industry, exhortations to
“correct thinking” and “tell a story honestly,” whatever the latter means,
prohibitions against film practice in Nigeria, based on age, nationality,
learning, ostensible skills, non-membership, three-tier membership order . .
.
The scenario appears quite grim...
Well, policing
creativity, especially who may engage in it, runs counter to the national
constitution, basic human rights, freedom of expression, making a living, etc.
So, conceivably, individuals, guilds and the council would be embroiled in
protests, legal challenges, and, with the power and reaches of new media
technologies, a global outcry that would waste time, scarce resources, and imperil
co-production prospects, thus spurring runaway productions.
Could you elaborate on the last two, co-productions
and runaway productions?
Each raises
knotty policy issues, with the industry’s prospects for long-term growth.
Co-production treaties are entered between countries, not guilds, and increase global
networks for the respective signatories. So the guilds should press the
government for such, as the benefits are plentiful; for example, cultural
exchanges, transfer of skills, access to markets and funding sources. South
Africa, for instance, has eight co-production treaties. Nigeria has none and
may never do, with the prohibitive elements in the bill’s current draft.
What about runaway productions, a fascinating term . .
.?
Coined by the
American film industry, the term refers to Hollywood productions which, for a
number of reasons, like cheaper labor, tax incentives, production costs,
favorable exchange rates, are shot in more amenable locations, like Canada,
costing the US billions in lost revenues. If the draft’s shortcomings hold,
film-makers will, predictably, hop across borders to Benin Republic, Cameroon,
or Ghana, shoot films, release them from there, destabilizing Nollywood’s
distribution points, depriving Nigeria of billions, thus laying the foundation,
however gradual, for the industry’s undoing.
What do you make of the composition of the review
committee?
Well, it is
fairly composite, insofar as film-making is a collaborative process and an
umbrella forum is at the core of the current endeavor. That said, the dynamics
of the deliberative process is key. The integrity of the process, for instance,
would be better served if members of the current committee, who may have been
involved in the initial (2006) draft, recuse themselves. Town-hall meetings,
open to the public, would help foster constructive exchanges, as well as allay
fears, founded or not, of hidden agenda.
Positions on the Bill have undercurrents of
Nollywood’s inter-generational conflicts. Would you agree?
That is
regrettable because a cursory glance across Africa reveals audacious pushing of
creative boundaries and more worldly reference points, from a younger
generation of writers, musicians, artists, fashion designers, entrepreneurs,
and, crucially, here, film-makers. In this are shifts in interests,
experiences, sensibilities, and audiences. Living
in Bondage, a seminal Nollywood film, would, next year, be a quarter
century old. So, whether seen as renegades or upstarts, Nollywood’s younger
generation must be reckoned with, considerably.
Advocates of the Bill cite the need for
professionalism...
A film’s
production gloss or high budget does not necessarily guarantee “professionalism”,
“quality” or, crucially, commercial success. A film may be a critical hit and
still flop commercially. In all, a mix of elements should count, including
creative merits of the film as art and entertainment, how it is positioned in
the marketplace and resonates with audiences across the board.
Tenets of APCON (Advertising Practitioners Council of
Nigeria) are, also, referenced as model... Any comments?
“Model,” is
putting it charitably if one juxtaposes certain elements of the proposed Bill,
like “Functions of the Council”, with “Functions of APCON” on the latter’s
website, where it is noted that its establishing Act “vested APCON with powers
to control and regulate practice of advertising in Nigeria, in all its aspects
and ramifications,” has a “governing council composed of the Chairman who is
appointed by the President of Nigeria,” and other provisions that make it, in
effect, a parastatal. With the Nigeria Film Corporation, National Copyright
Commission, Nigeria Film and Video Censors Board, Nigerian Broadcasting
Commission, National Film Institute in existence, such “modeling” is
intrinsically flawed. Film practice is different from medical practice, legal
practice, advertising, etc.
Are there middle grounds, then, for the government and
guilds’ stakes?
Certainly . .
. the government should robustly
encourage private sector investments and confidence in the industry, promote
indigenous content, production subsidies, tax incentives, help develop sturdy
industry structures like production and post-production facilities, expand
distribution and exhibition channels, support film festivals, maintain digital
and comprehensive libraries of software, books, manuals, worldwide industry
journals, create special funding schemes for aspiring and emerging talents,
vigorously enforce existing laws, articulate public enlightenment campaigns
against piracy, conducive policies and, generally, the environment for the
industry’s growth.
And, the guilds or associations...?
The guilds
should register an independent lobby forum, premised on solidarity rather than
facile notions of “unity”, and articulate bankable visions. They must,
relentlessly, invest in the professional and strategic development of the
industry through further education or training, websites, networking,
workshops, seminars, mentorship programs - not apprentice programs -
identifying emerging talents, however young, eschewing hierarchies, encouraging
diversity and range of innovative projects, insisting on and respecting
contracts, and with recent deaths in the industry look into health insurance
programs, even, pension plans. In essence, premium should be placed on
collective bargaining power for negotiating with the government, private
investors, corporations and international businesses.
Quite a lot, there. Anything else, for all
concerned...?
Look to the
future with discerning eyes. Build for the future with discerning minds.
