150,000 young Nigerian women will be trained in film, television, and motion picture production over the next three years. This significant opportunity is made available through a partnership with the KAP Film and Television Academy and Mastercard Foundation.
Kunle Afolayan, who is the founder and CEO of the academy, told Netng the training will be done virtually through a dedicated application and will leverage smartphone technology.
300,000 Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 35 will be selected over the next three years with 50 per cent of the slot reserved for women. Globally, the film production industry has had a gender gap leading to fewer women in the areas of screenwriting, sound, editing, directing and cinematography.
A UNESCO 2018 Global Report revealed that only 1 in 5 films is directed by a woman and only 16% of the funding goes to films directed by women. With Nollywood being the third-largest movie industry in the world after Hollywood and Bollywood, this opportunity will greatly raise the stakes and provide more women with the right opportunity to fully participate in the industry and be involved in telling their own stories properly.
According to KAP Academy, the training programme will include a Masterclass Series which is a virtual series of 20 episodes providing e-learning to aspiring filmmakers, covering several aspects of filmmaking from directing, cinematography, and the business of film using Afolayan’s acclaimed movie, ‘The Figurine’, as a case study. The virtual series will be free to watch on KAPtv’s YouTube channel.
The programme will also include two levels of certifications from professional institutions in the areas of screenwriting, sound, editing, directing, cinematography and production design, among others as well as practical hands-on training. It will also link participants to employment or gig entrepreneurship activities, not only in the film industry via placements and internships, but in related sub-sectors such as fashion, make-up, music scores, editing, and scriptwriting
To ensure young people enrolled in the programme have access to the tools required for digital learning, free tuition and smartphone devices will be offered to students from less privileged backgrounds. These tools are being provided through a partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and its Young Africa Works program in Nigeria.
Selection will be based on a one-minute video pitch to assess the level of skill, passion, and socio-economic status of each applicant. The programme will also include two levels of certifications from professional institutions.
