Government To Revive Film Industry

By Elizabeth MOSIMA, Cameroon Tribune, 17-08-2014

An MOU was signed between the Ministry of Arts and Culture and NAFCA on August 14, 2014.

Over the years a good number Cameroonian films have been locked up in drawers or the idea of making them discarded. Reviving the Cameroonian film industry and taking it to the international audience is therefore a major preoccupation of government.

A Memorandum Of Understanding, MOU, was signed between the Ministry of Arts and Culture and the Nollywood African Film Critic Awards (NAFCA) on Thursday August 14, 2014 in Yaounde. The purpose of the MOU is the production of a film in Cameroon.

Speaking to journalists, the Minister of Arts and Culture, Ama Tutu Mina said the agreement is to construct partnership so that the Cameroon film industry can reach higher standards.  She said it is a huge opportunity for the Cameroon film industry to get into the international stage. “Cameroon has a long way to go as far as African film-making is concerned,” she said. Actually, the Cameroon film industry has for so long been having problems of visibility because some of films have been done, but people do not have access to them.

The main idea is to associate the efforts and knowledge of Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana to re-launch the Cameroon film industry.  After the MOU, the next step will be the launch of tenders for script writers for the production of the film. Already, 36 script writers have been selected and will be given the opportunity to do a story line. The best three scripts will be selected to be developed into full scripts. The film will be shot in Cameroon and will be bilingual.

The actors will be mostly Cameroonians and will have some big international names to lead the Cameroonian actors to the international stage, but they are going to play second fiddle as the Cameroonians take lead roles.