The National Film and Video Censors Board(NFVCB) has said that four Nigerian filmmakers finalists had been shortlisted for the finals of the Netflix-UNESCO’s “African Folktales, Re-imagined” Competition.
The four filmmakers, who made the shortlist were: Nosa Igbinedion, Tongryang Pantu, Akorede Azeez, and Anita Abada.
The Board had earlier shared the opportunity on its various social media platforms, with the aim of attracting young creative talents and filmmakers to the competition, in collaboration with Netflix.
Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, Executive Director of NFVCB, said in a statement on Friday, in Abuja, that Netflix had announced the shortlisted finalists, including the four Nigerian talents standing out and proceeding along with the others.
According to him, the shortlisted candidates would proceed to the next stage of the competition in which they would have the opportunity, to pitch their story to a judging panel comprising industry experts, such as Nigeria’s own Femi Odugbemi.
“The judging panel will select the final six winners, each of whom will receive from Netflix a production grant of US$75,000, through a local production company.
“The excess of that is to develop, shoot and post-produce their films under the guidance of industry mentors selected by UNESCO and Netflix.
“Each of the six winners will also receive a gift of $25,000. The contest was aimed at discovering talented new voices in storytelling and to give emerging filmmakers in Sub-Saharan Africa visibility on a global scale,” Thomas said.
NFVCB further explained that the competition was a highly competitive event, with over 2,000 applications submitted, from which top 21 shortlisted candidates, from 13 different countries, were selected.
” This competition highlights the richness and diversity of Africa’s local stories which often go unnoticed due to the lack of access to the right resources and visibility.
“Netflix, UNESCO and the NFVCB are committed to amplifying the voices of African storytellers. This would enable them to go ahead and find sustainable employment, professional development and access to opportunities in the creative industry.
“We celebrate our Nigerian filmmakers rising to the occasion and shining alongside other African storytellers,” he added.
