U.S Dept of State, Gbinigie, Zulu, others laud SWGN

Several stakeholders within and outside the nation’s motion picture industry, globally known as Nollywood, have applauded the recently held one-week workshop of the Screen Writers Guild of Nigeria (SWGN).
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the epoch event, which was jointly organized by the US Department of State and SWGN, Mr. Andrien Gbinigie, a Nollywood enthusiast and Chairman/CEO of Atlantic Overseas, applauded the guild for its giant strides and enormous contributions to the development of Nollywood and the motion picture industry in general, over the years.
He further challenged them to do more despite inadequate funding, government’s non-chalant attitude and lack of international trainings and exposures, stressing that their role was very vital in the transformation of Nollywood.
Gbinigie, who was the chairman at the closing Dinner, was accompanied by his charming wife, Dr. (Mrs.) O.O. Gbinigie. He was thankful to the US Department of State, and Mary Lou Johnson-Pizarro, the Public Diplomacy Officer, for accepting to partner the guild and flying in the key resource person, Prof. Myla Churchill, from the New York Film Academy. He also thanked the other resource persons drawn from Nollywood and all those that made the event possible.
Gbinigie, who got a rousing ovation after delivering his closing remarks, urged the writers to further raise the standard of Nollywood stories, in order to reflect and highlight the good sides of our nation, while churning out their scripts.
Also speaking at the event, which was well attended, Pizzaro, hailed the organizers and told them to continue with their good works for Nollywood.
In her brief remarks, Prof. Churchill, who was visibly excited, said the workshop was very fulfilling and challenging. She also thanked all those that made her stay memorable and stress free, and told the organizers to always reach out to her whenever necessary. “It was nice visiting mother land,” she enthused.
In his speech, which was tagged: A Clarion Call To Nollywood, top filmmaker, Zik Zulu –Okafor, lamented the dearth of both public and private sponsorships in Nollywood, adding that the US government’s involvement, should be seen as a clarion call for those in both sectors, to immediately and urgently come and support the growth of the industry now.
The president of the guild, Mr. Tony Anih, in his address, thanked all the invited guests, for coming and further called for more creative collaborations between the writers’ guild and all the other guilds in the industry.