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The Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) says the second edition of its international festival will hold from Aug. 8 to Aug. 10 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Its National President, Dr Emeka Rollas, disclosed this during a news conference on Monday in Lagos.
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Rollas noted that the international festival was to provide a platform for film diplomatic activities, cultural exchange, sustainable creative and marketing collaboration between Nollywood and the international film industry.
According to him, the theme for the festival is, “The Actors Market Place (TAMP)”.
“The festival is meant to ensure the business opportunities in the film industry is uniquely accessed by all, as we intend to improve a broader collaboration between filmmakers and the actors to directly and indirectly benefit from the $26 billion global film industry.
“It is also a prominent platform to celebrate and showcase the diverse talents in Nollywood, especially the performers, as we aspire to make the festival a powerful force to spotlight and showcase talents to the international producers, directors, studios and casting agencies.
“We will also be raising the awareness of the creative impact of Nollywood to the world.
“It is surprising to observe that a film like WAKANDA FOREVER 2, a typical African story written by a Nigerian-American fiction writer, Nemdi Okoroafor, could not consider any notable Nollywood actor for a leading role during the casting.
“Our dream is to see our members perform at the global stage and make mega income like their counterparts in other parts of the world,” he said.
He said that in 2023 when writers and actors in Hollywood were on strike for pay rise and collective bargaining against big studios gradually diverting to the use of AI, big studios and companies in Africa were acquiring contents without resistance on figures or global pricing applications.
“This is because of the ignorance of Nigerian actors on global practices.
“Our burgeoning film industry is a major economic driver, but at the moment, the ecosystem is to a large extent still very informal and as such has yet to deliver the full economic benefits of which it has proven capable in other parts of the world.
“Amongst all those who work hard to bring a script to screen, actors undoubtedly play a very significant role.
“In spite the fundamental contributions they bring to the success of the industry, actors rank among the most vulnerable workers in the value chain of content creation.
“So, we are taking bolder steps to create a conducive environment for our members to thrive which informed the introduction of the international festival,” he said.
Rollas inaugurated the international festival project management team consisting of Segun Arinze, as the festival director and Ifeoma Okeke, the festival producer.
In his acceptance speech, Arinze promised to do his best in ensuring the success of the festival.
He urged the AGN members to take conscious efforts to attend the festival as well as market themselves.
“This is a festival that will have on ground many renowned film distribution companies like Netflix, Prime Studio and all.
“It is a platform to profile yourself and you won’t be surprised to be lucky to attract international agents. We, as the project management team will do our best,” he said.
