A renowned filmmaker, Tunde Kelani, has urged Nigerian movie producers to be more professional in their trade to sustain the current global recognition they and the actors enjoy.
Kelani told the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Lagos that if Nigerian filmmakers and actors could conform to the standards of skill, competence or character normally expected of properly qualified and experienced persons in the film production industry, “due recognition” would go to them.
He said: “When the time for Oscar (awards) comes, we won’t have to struggle hard.
“All we need to do is just put a lot of more production value and professionalism into our work to sustain the progress we have made.
“So we still have a long way to go as to sustainability of our presence.
“Most importantly, I’m just concerned about how we sustain and improve on what we have achieved so far.
“What will be done is just focus on improving everything: all about our story-telling, use of the technology and all that.
“We still have a long, long way to go and if care is not taken, we’ll begin to dilute the kind of movies we make because we want to be recognised at Oscar (awards).
“In that situation, we may lose focus altogether.”
NAN recalls that a member of the Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee, Shaibu Husseini, recently attributed the failure of Nigerian movie producers to win international awards to “poor quality of production” and “bad subtitles”.
According to Husseini, a journalist, Nigerian films, produced in English and in local languages, have never met the standard for award nomination since the introduction of the foreign language category for the Oscar award.
Kelani, who studied filmmaking at the London Film School, has produced many blockbuster movies such as Dazzling Mirage, Maami and Arugba.
NAN.
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