Mr Terry A’wase, a film maker and social entrepreneur, has called on the Plateau Government to establish a film village in the state.
A’wase made this call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos on Friday.
He noted that there were vibrant institutions in terms of creativity like the National Film Institute, TV College and a federal university offering film and theatre art in the state.
‘’It means its happens here in Jos, most of the early films were done in the city of Jos and so many Nollywood stars were birthed in Jos, ‘’ said A’wase.
He said the state would benefit hugely from the establishment of a film village as many youths would be trained.
‘’It is expected that the state government would establish a cooperate arrangement to train more people along this line,‘’ he said.
The film maker suggested for a structure on ground to accommodate various forms of arts such as dancing, singing, films, modeling and fashion in Jos as a creative hub.
‘’So many artists start from Jos and move out to places like Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt in search of sponsors and markets for their products and never return again,‘’ the film maker said.
He said that the government should also build a studio for special effects to give artists a common sense of value and enable them showcase their skills and also collaborate with some financial institutions to get grants and soft loan for the artists.
A’wase said that a film village would attract many artists to Jos and the state government would increase its internally generated revenue as well.
‘’The last film I did was in Jos. I insisted the location must be in Jos and so I brought in many people from Lagos to Jos,” said A’wase.
According to him, the state government should advantage of the clement weather and beautiful scenery on the Plateau to attract investors in the entertainment industry.
He however advised the youths to acquire the necessary skills and learn to add value to their products.
