From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
As part of its effort to drive stakeholder engagement in the education sector, The Abuja Film Village Limited has partnered with the Actors Guild of Nigeria and the facilitating consultant, “I AM the Future of Nigeria Youth Initiative” (IFON), to launch the Born Talent Auditions. The auditions are geared towards strengthening the education sector through entertainment along a wide spectrum of themes including bullying, child sexual abuse, good citizenship and leadership, the spread of fake news, illegal migration (to japa or not to japa), climate change, advocating for peace, and disability.
Others are financial literacy, terrorism, grief awareness, road safety, hygiene, fraud, domestic violence and refugees and internally displaced persons.
The two-day audition saw in attendance, a strong stream of talent from across Nigeria which was screened by notable veterans of the Nigerian Nollywood industry. These judges included Charles Inojie, Chinyere Wilfred and Nosa Rex with coordinating support from the National President of Actors Guild of Nigeria, Ejezie Emeka Rollas MON and the Executive Director of I am the Future of Nigeria Youth Initiative, Mrs. Noni Okocha.
The Managing Director of Abuja Film Village, Dr. Francisca Ibezim restated the company’s continued resolve to ensure that the entertainment content produced also benefits the more impressionable members of the society in a way that contributes to socio-economic growth. She expressed her admiration for the talented young Nigerians who braved distance, weather conditions and personal doubt to register and attend the auditions.
The Abuja Film Village is a Public-Private Partnership initiative of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, envisioned to make Abuja and by extension, Nigeria a one-stop shop for for entertainment and filmmaking excellence. Its mission is to act as a bridge between the film industry, the education sector, the workforce, our communities and young people in Nigeria.
The company works closely with industry gladiators to produce educational film content, film-based educational awareness campaigns and talent-hunt auditions to discover talents that will be empowered directly into the movie industry.