Film board draws attention to movie content, parental guide
The National Film and Video Censors Board, NFVCB, has re-echoed the need for stakeholders in the Nigerian film industry to submit their film productions to the board for classification to enable them meet their market targets. The board as well, is drawing attention of parents to monitor the type of films their children watch on television so as to safeguard them from getting corrupted with films that are not in tandem with the traditional norms and values of the Nigerian society.
In recent times, the NFVCB had discovered shortfall on standard by filmmakers who defaulted the regulatory authority’s statutory rules, and as well, rose to protect the country from harmful movie contents. It observed that some filmmakers failed to connect with their original film contents and end up producing films that are detrimental to the nation’s cultural values. It wants filmmakers to make films that children can watch in cinemas without exposing them to violence, sexual violence and nudity.
At a training workshop on classification in film production tagged ‘Celebration of Women in the Business of Film and Production, which held recently in Lagos, the board enlightened filmmakers on the essence of classification, which is needed for their film contents to strike economic interest.
Speaking at the workshop, Adebayo Thomas, director general of the board, noted that classification of films is necessary to guide viewers appropriately on contents to watch, especially kids and teenagers. Adebayo stressed that the essence of the workshop was to broaden knowledge, expose filmmakers, and to enable them have critical reviews of their scripts prior to production. The review, according to the director general, would boost productions that meet all regulatory standards, contents that would not be restricted, and also generate income for the filmmakers.
Explaining the categories of classification and acronyms, NFVCB said:
PG means ( Parental Guidance), SPG (Strong Parental Guidance), HS (Hate Speech), M (Matured), and 15 (accompanied by their parents).
The director general said that the board bans films that are not in tune with norms and values of the society and that could also instigate crisis.
On capacity development, he said the board was prepared to live up to its statutory obligation as it had sent over one hundred of its staff abroad to hone their knowledge in matters of films through trainings, workshops and seminars.
Hilda Dokubo, Nollywood star actress, was the keynote speaker at the workshop. Dokunbo gave insight into classification of films and ratings. She said: “The goal of classification is to inform the public about the nature of films and also allow filmmakers to express themselves”.
Dokunbo explained that classification educates and informs the public about the content of the film before watching it, hence enabling a viewer to make the right decisions based on their age and viewing rights.
The Nollywood thespian placed premium on contents as a factor that should be prioritized by the filmmaker to ensure production meets goals, while cultural norms are protected.
She advocated for the protection of children from profane films even as the industry globally has been battling with abuse.
She proposed classification of films that are gender sensitive to protect the girl-child from inferiority complex, especially from her male counterparts. She suggested the creation of another group (classification) to help parents groom children into adulthood.
The Nollywood gender film activist argued that Nigeria strives to be like Hollywood, but not in terms of content and technicalities. Her reason stemmed from the fact that the traditional norms and values of the Nigerian society vary from that of the United States of America. For instance, in the US, homosexuality and lesbianism are practiced and shown in certain cinemas. But such acts are considered abomination in Nigeria, and attract a legal punishment of 14 years imprisonment. This means that what applies in the American society may be prohibited in Nigeria.
The organisers of the workshop urged filmmakers to submit their works to the Censor’s Board for classification in order to define the contents and market of their production.
At the workshop, Tunji Azeez, a business consultant with specialisation in mentorship, highlighted that mentorship is necessary for successful career development, accountability, responsibility and discipline.
Azeez encouraged people who want to attain to greater heights in their career to seek experts to give them the right guide and counseling to actualize their vision, especially people in the film industry.