On March 13, 2016, the inauguration of the Ministerial Committee aimed at fast-tracking the passage into law of the Motion Picture Practitioners Council of Nigeria (MOPPICON) Bill in Lagos, was announced.
In a statement made by Minister of Information and Culture,Alhaji Lai Mohammed, a 17-member committee will havePeace Anyiam-Osigwe (AMAA President) and Mahmoud Alli-Balogun (Tango with Me) review and Bill before its submission to the Ministry of Justice and the National Assembly.
Read More
The MOPICON ( Motion Picture Council Of Nigeria bill seeks to a) determine who are motion picture practitioners.
B) To determine what standard of knowledge and skills are to be attained by persons seeking to become registered as Motion Picture Practitioners and reviewing those standards from time to time.
C) To secure in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the establishment and maintenance of register of persons entitled to practise as professionals in the motion picture Industry, and the publication, from time to time, of lists of those persons.
And many more.
Nigerians have Negatively reacted to the Bill. Here are some of the reactions so far :
We've Not Tackled Piracy Oh.— Adesua Etomi (@AdesuaEtomi) March 29, 2016
But The MOPICON Bill Would Like To Send Filmmakers To Jail???
Really?
It is only in Nigeria older professionals struggle to stop young professionals from growth, the mopicon bill is a good example #NoToMopicon— UCHE CHUKWU™ (@Itsyoungpizzy) March 29, 2016
It wld hurt less if it was proposed by govt. but no! Na 'one of us' propose am. Na wa o! #NoToMopicon— bose oshin (@oshinbose) March 29, 2016
Nollywood producer, Uduak isong Reacted Thus :
One question has stayed on my mind, why does anyone want this bill? How does it move not just Nollywood as an industry to the next level, but the practitioners as well? It looks to me like gagging, and why would anyone seek to gag Nollywood.
Anyone, anyone at all, should be able to pick up a phone, a camera, to express their Art without fear or prejudice. We already have the censors board for ratings and other checks, why do we need this bill?
I have recently finished post production on a commissioned film. I worked with a first time director, Bunmi Ajakaiye , she was brilliant. I’m happy with my film and hopefully my sponsors and the audience will be happy too. This should be all that counts. If this bill were in place, I would not have been able to employ Ms Ajakaiye. I’d be forced to work with one of the MOPICON directors irrespective of our ideologies. ELTV, IROKO TV, AFRICA MAGIC have in the past few years created several jobs by funding films, often working with young directors. This has birthed a new crop of directors, writers and producers in Nollywood, something I thought we’d all be happy about. With a bill like MOPICON, their hands will be tied as the bill further seeks to prohibit non members from producing and making projects for both the cinema and Home Video Market plus Television Stations and Networks for gains as
a) Producer, Deputy producer, and unit producers
b) Director, unit director, Associate Director and Assistant Director, and
c)Unit Director of Photography, Associate Director of photography, Assistant director of photography and Deputy director of photography.
Let me categorically state that the Nigerian Government has NEVER contributed financially towards my film career. I attended a short course at Raindance, UK. I paid for it. I attended the Berlinale talent campus years back. THE German Government paid for it. I attended a creative industry workshop in the UK. The British Government paid for it.
We have major challenges, there’s piracy, there’s poor distribution, and there’s Telemundo. You’d think we’d be talking about tax rebates, waiver fees from LASAA so we can have increased marketing, more support for filmmakers to ensure they thrive in this tough environment that is Nigeria but no, we want a bill that looks like it wants to clip wings, to ensure that only a certain people get jobs.
In Your own opinion, do you think This Moppicon Bill is a Positive Move ?
We have major challenges, there’s piracy, there’s poor distribution, and there’s Telemundo. You’d think we’d be talking about tax rebates, waiver fees from LASAA so we can have increased marketing, more support for filmmakers to ensure they thrive in this tough environment that is Nigeria but no, we want a bill that looks like it wants to clip wings, to ensure that only a certain people get jobs.
In Your own opinion, do you think This Moppicon Bill is a Positive Move ?
No comments:
Post a Comment