Utomi, NFC, NFVCB, AGN, AMAA, others shine @ Nollywood summit

Pic-Utomi speaking at the event

History was re-written in Nollywood penultimate week, when the Movie Reporters Guild of Nigeria (MORGON), the umbrella body of all the entertainment journalists covering Nollywood, gathered stakeholders from within and outside the industry, for an international summit.
Tagged: Nollywood Our Nollywood, the first of its kind event, primarily aimed at moving the industry forward, was chaired by Prof.
Pat Utomi, the cerebral Director of the Lagos Business School and former presidential candidate.
Utomi, also a Nollywood enthusiast, in his paper entitled; Nollywood and Business Opportunities, spoke extensively on how the industry could be moved to the next level, with the right business opportunities from stakeholders and practitioners.
In the course of his presentation, Utomi who spoke extempore, promised to set up a private film fund soon, as well as a private film village, arguing that they are huge business and investment opportunities needed by the nation’s motion picture industry, if it must be seen as a global money spinner. He ended his well-applauded speech by urging filmmakers to always promote our rich cultural heritage in their works, adding that the heart of social progress is culture.
Other speakers at the event include: Mr. Kene Mkparu, the first Black General Manager of Odeon cinemas, UK, now the managing director of Genesis Deluxe Cinemas. Mkparu, spoke on: Nollywood and the Global Film Industry. Mrs. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, the honcho of AMAA, delivered a riveting paper tagged: Repositioning Nollywood Through Film Festivals and Awards, while Mr. Ejike Asiegbu, the AGN president, spoke on: Nollywood and Entertainment Journalists: A Partnership That Works. However, the controversial and thought provoking paper of Mr. Adim Williams, vice president of AMP, generated so many crises in the capacity filled hall. It was tagged: Dwindling Fortunes of Nollywood: Who To Blame. Also, the representatives of both the DG and MD of the National Film and Video Censors Board and the Nigerian Film Corporation, delivered papers on: Nollywood and The New Distribution Framework and Government’s Good Intentions For The Industry, respectively. Several Nollywood stars and practitioners that spoke at the event commended MORGON, for coming up with the laudable initiative, which is currently setting agenda for discourse within and outside Nollywood.