Kunle Afolayan Productions (KAP) Film & Television Academy has partnered with The United States embassy in Nigeria to train aspiring filmmakers.
At a media briefing at the KAP Village in Ikeja Lagos, a partnership between both parties was announced to the public. The idea aims to empower young Nigerian filmmakers through a four-day workshop focused on movie directing and cinematography.
The event kicked off with the third edition of the academy’s Reel Circle. At the ceremony, Kunle Afolayan said the partnership was initiated during his recent visit to the United States.
The 50-year-old award-winning producer said the aim of the training is to nurture the next generation of Nigerian filmmakers by providing hands-on experience to top US industry professionals.
“When the opportunity to partner with this US Embassy came, we felt we could merge the capacity building training. Because our focus is the young people. But Reel Circle is for everybody,” he said.
“It is like raising a child. Some of them are this genuinely while some of them think it is a place where they could make a quick name. I think the onus rests on us to pass the information, and knowledge as much as we can regardless of whether they listen or not.
He also drew attention to the academy’s other partnerships, including ones with the French embassy and a German company, which have enabled training for 10,000 youths.
“This is just one of our initiatives. We have a partnership with the French embassy. We just completed one with a German company. We have also held training for 10,000 youths. Some of these people work permanently in-house for us. For me, that is a success story.”
Popular names like Angel Williams, the US-based writer and director, and Erin Wesley, the American visual artist and cinematographer, were selected as tutors. Will Stevens, the US consul general in Nigeria, described the partnership as a continuation of shared culture between the two countries.
“As an American diplomat, I feel deeply, the power of our culture and how the United States has benefitted for many decades, the power of culture and that has helped how people perceive the United States for better and for worse but it also led to increased interest in visiting and doing business in the United States,” he said.
Sola Sobowale, Tunde Kelani, Steve Sodiya, and Ope Ajayi were among the notable persons who attended the event. The training will be held between November 12 and 16.
