By Adedapo Adesanya
A total of 382 movies was produced by the Nigerian film industry, otherwise known as Nollywood, in the last quarter of 2021, up from 375 in the third quarter, indicating a 1.9 per cent growth quarter-on-quarter.
This was disclosed by the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) in a statement signed by Mr Adedayo Thomas, Executive Director/CEO of the board.
According to him, the figure was made available by the Department of Film Censorship and Classification of the board in its fourth-quarter report for the year, which captured all films submitted to the board from across the country.
Mr Thomas said that Lagos State had the highest number of movies produced for the period with 181, while Onitsha followed with 96 movies and Abuja with 87 movies.
The analysis by locations further showed that Kano had seven, while Port Harcourt and Jos recorded three respectively and Benin had five movies for the period under review.
“The report is for onward submission to the relevant Federal Government authority for compilation of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the fourth quarter (Q4), 2021.
“We are happy that the industry is picking up again, having survived the harsh impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on every sector of our economy, including the creative sector and the motion picture industry in particular.
“We introduced virtual censorship platforms to keep the industry running so as not to jeopardise the business interest of stakeholders, and that has become an integral part of our operations,” he said.
NFVCB is a federal government body that regulates the films and video industry in Nigeria. The board is empowered by law to classify all films and videos whether imported or produced locally.
It is also the duty of the board to register all films and videos outlets across the country and to keep a register of such registered outlets, among other functions.
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