FG inaugurates N2bn fund for film distribution

By Aminu Imam

The Federal Government said, at the weekend, that it had launched the N2bn Innovation Distribution Fund to improve the distribution of audio-visual content, reduce piracy and protect intellectual property in the entertainment industry.

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in a statement issued by her Special Adviser on Communications, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, said the fund was targeted at businesses in the film distribution space.

The plan, the statement added, was a market-driven approach that would boost the number and quality of distribution options through strategic co-financing of new channels and supporting the expansion of existing ones.

The approach, she said, would include technology-based solutions such as digital streaming, movie exhibition infrastructure and physical distribution.

The minister added, “The ultimate objective is to make pirated copies of Nollywood movies unattractive to consumers by ensuring that genuine products are easily available at a multiplicity of accessible points.

“This is to ensure that those who put their efforts into film production are properly rewarded.

“The tool for achieving this ambitious objective is the N2bn Innovation Distribution Fund aimed at improving the distribution of audio-visual content, cut down on piracy, and to better protect intellectual property in the industry.

“The IDF is targeted at the businesses that operate or plan to operate in the film distribution space.”

Okonjo-Iweala also said the distribution fund was the third of the three funds for the Project Nollywood.

The other two have reached significant implementation levels, according to the statement.

The Capacity Building Fund, valued at N300m, she stated, would enable industry practitioners to update their technical skills through foreign and existing private Nigeria-owned institutes that offered training courses, programmes and technical certification in the movie industry.