Nigeria’s film industry, Nollywood, is a hotbed of talent, including actors, screenwriters, editors, producers, and directors. But where do these stars hone their skills? Jade Osiberu, a Nigerian filmmaker, recently sparked a conversation on social media, highlighting the need for more robust training programs in the industry.
Her comments have shone a spotlight on several prominent film institutes in Nigeria that are shaping the future of Nollywood. From the Multichoice Talent Factory to the EbonyLife Academy, these institutions are nurturing the next generation of filmmakers, actors, and producers.
In this article, we delve into the top film schools in Nigeria and the impact they’re having on Nollywood’s continued growth and success.
Multichoice talent factory
The MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) is a shared-value initiative by MultiChoice Africa that provides a platform for the creative industries to develop their talent and passion for filmmaking. This initiative has a multi-tiered approach, namely; the MTF Portal, the MTF Academies and MTF Industry Masterclasses.
MTF Academy develops emerging TV and film talent in Africa, through an accredited 12-month immersion programme including both theory and hands-on experience in cinematography, editing, audio production and storytelling spanning three regions and 13 countries across Africa. MTF Portal is an interactive online portal pan-African portal designed specifically to meet the needs of a growing African film industry and offers open access to film creatives across Africa. The MTF Masterclasses are workshops which are open to industry professionals who aim to further develop their technical skills and are facilitated by industry experts.
Del-York Creative Academy
The Del-York Creative Academy is one of Africa’s foremost capacity-building institutions for the film, media, animation, technology, and marketing communications industry. Established in 2010 with its headquarters located in Lagos, Nigeria the film and media school aims to make a major impact in educating both prospective and established talents in Africa’s creative industry, through its intensive hands-on training programs.
They offer courses ranging from Acting For Film (On-Premise), Screenwriting (On-Premise), Digital Content Creation & Social Media Influencing, Public Relations & Media Communications, Photography, Fashion, Arts & Craft, Directing, and more technical courses like 3D Animation, Cinematography & Set Lighting, Drones, VFX, Film Editing.
Ebonylife Creative Academy
EbonyLife Creative Academy is one of the most popular film academies founded and is supported by the Lagos State Government through the Lagos State Creative Industry Initiative (LACI), under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Headed by Mo Abudu, CEO of Ebonylife Group the academy was established to equip aspiring and industry professionals with the practical and technical skills necessary to build a successful career in both the Nigerian and international markets.
Courses range from Acting, production, directing, screenwriting and many other technical courses such as cinematography and post-production.
Shoot Edit Repeat
Shoot Edit Repeat by Dada Temitope is a community of African filmmakers and creatives that offer niche training for specific sectors of the film industry. Since 2020, they’ve been organising periodic trainings for cinematographers, and exclusive portfolio reviews where filmmakers get to showcase their creative vision, receive invaluable feedback and connect with fellow creatives.
KAP Film and Television Academy
Founded by Kunle Afolayan, one of Nigeria’s foremost filmmakers, the KAP Film and Television Academy is a film production learning institution helping prospective filmmakers with film industry knowledge through a curriculum as well as first-hand learning from tried and tested industry experts, to spur capacity-building within the film industry in Nigeria.
The KAP Film and Television Academy offers both offline and online courses in a wide array of filmmaking courses, learning from some of the best names in the industry locally and globally.
Recently, Hollywood director Angel Kristi Williams and cinematographer Erin G. Wesley partnered with Afolayan to host a four-day workshop for young filmmakers in the country.
The Nollywood Studies Centre
The Nollywood Studies Centre (NSC), a unit of the School of Media and Communication of the Pan-Atlantic University is a resource and research centre dedicated to the Nigerian film industry. The Centre aims to contribute to the development of the industry and its practitioners through its various academic programmes at undergraduate, master and doctorate levels and Professional programmes like seminars, workshops and forums.
Established in 2011 the NSC was created in recognition of the important status that the Nigerian film industry has attained in terms of its cultural and economic impact. NSC is headed by Ikechukwu Obiaya, Dean, School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University.
Terra Academy for the Arts
Founded by Bolanle Austin-Peters, Terra Academy for the Arts aims to Educate young people with relevant up-to-date technical and practical skills for the creative industry. Some of the courses taught include Animation, Script Writing, Sound Design, and Stage Lighting.
The Academy which runs six to eight-week programs four times in an academic year also teaches courses on Art Business & Entrepreneurship which gives talents business skills which will prepare them for the realities of the gig economy and the creative industry, further aiding employment sustainability.
AFRIFF Talent Development Programme
AFRIFF Talent Development Programme (ADTP) popularly known as AFRIFF ACADEMY is a program that targets young African creatives and provides them with the skills and exposure required to succeed. This is Afriff’s flagship capacity-building initiative founded by Chioma Ude.
Under ATDP, AFRIFF has trained over 10,000 young film practitioners in 12 African countries. Every year, at least 15 of the most promising students in each cohort have been sponsored by international film academies including The Montana State University, Relativity Film School Los Angeles, Lyon Film School France and Poland Film School.
First Feature Project
The First Feature Project is an N1 billion investment project for training unknown and emerging directors. Led by filmmakers Steve Gukas and Dotun Olakunri, is dedicated to nurturing and supporting a new generation of film directors in Nigeria. It offers training and funding for the debut feature films by these emerging talents in the Nigerian film industry.
The First Features Project supports 12 emerging Nigerian directors by providing mentorship, training, and funding for their debut films. These emerging directors will debut their films through the support granted by the institution and will be available on Prime Video.
Jade Osiberu also said that there are a number of producers who also have training programs, including Emem Isong, Chris Odeh, and Toyin Abraham among others.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
