Nigeria’s National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) and the Alliance Francaise have signed an agreement to showcase and distribute the movies from the two countries through the “French-Nigerian Film Distribution Conference”.
The agreement was signed during a courtesy visit by Mr. Jerome Pasquier, Ambassador of France to Nigeria, to the Headquarters of the NFVCB on Tuesday in Abuja, local media reported on Tuesday.
The report said that Mr. Adedayo Thomas, Executive Director of the board and Mr. Arnand Durnon, Director of the Institue Francaise signed the agreement on behalf of the two organisations.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Thomas said that the collaboration was to present a platform where investors, producers, distributors and other stakeholders in the motion picture industries of both countries could meet for mutually beneficial deals.
According to him, the collaborative venture will, among other incentives, encourage and promote the distribution of Nollywood movies in France.
He added that both parties have conceived ‘French-Nigerian Cinema Days’, to screen and showcase the two countries movies, as part of the distribution conference scheduled to hold later in the year.
He noted that France prides itself as a country of moviegoers with over 5,000 screens, while in Nigeria has achieved 200 screens, from 39 in the last two years.
The Executive Director, however, decried the high rate of piracy as a major bane facing the evolving Nigerian moving industry, especially with the emergence of digital distribution platforms.
He, therefore, solicited for technical support from France to make the sector strive with piracy effectively nipped.
In his remarks, Pasquier, the French Envoy, said he was delighted at the partnership and that it was a common ground for both countries to grow their film industries and also strengthen bilateral relations.
“The film industries in France and Nigeria are contributing a lot to their economies, and this agreement will further present opportunities for both countries.
“This will bring better relationships, not just between the two countries government, but between their citizens as well,” he said.
GIK/APA