Following the success of his masterclasses across the globe, incorporating his many film lectures at various international fora, Theo Ukpaa has spread his teaching to institutions in Europe, America and African continent.
From April 11-15, 2023, Ukpaa will be among the facilitators at this year’s Coal City Film Festival taking place in Enugu.
Other facilitators include veteran filmmaker, Izu Ojukwu and producer of Shanty Town on Netflix, Chichi Nwoko.
At the event, students would examine current industry business models and develop plans to advance their careers in filmmaking.
According to Ukpaa, “Often times people focus merely on the show and glamour as well as the razzmatazz that comes with filmmaking, and end up dying broke.
A strong national economy depends on a strong creative economy – and it all starts with a story. The film and television industry supports 2.4 million jobs, pays out $186 billion in total wages, and comprises over 122,000 businesses. As a filmmaker, one of the best moments is directing real stories of real individuals, getting them to the big screens and smiling to the Bank.”
Ukpa, however, believes that passion can burn out when expenditure and hard work do not produce financial returns. Perhaps, these are part of the important basics he wants to teach at his Masterclass at the Coal City Film Festival.
Over the years, Ukpaa has helped in corporate TV channel start-up and development including Soundcity/SpiceTV (Africa’s biggest music/Fashion channel) and Trace Naija (French pay-TV music video channel owned by TPG Capital).
“Filmmaking is a very risky investment, since most movies, even those small, intimate dramas take several million dollars to make. Still, it’s definitely a hugely profitable business – if you hit the jackpot a.k.a the target audience. In this masterclass, I will share my wealth of knowledge on building great film business, accessing grants, networking with great film studios and distributors plus maximising profit in film,” Ukpaa said in an interview.