The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) has once more reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s cinematic and cultural heritage through the strengthening of its human resource capabilities; with the successful hosting of a transformative intensive training workshop which just ended in Jos, Plateau State.
Titled “Preservation of Audiovisual Materials and Archival Practices”, and held at the National Film Video and Sound Archive (NFVSA) – Jos, from April 1st – 11, 2025, the training workshop equipped participants with cutting-edge skills in film handling, film scanning, digitization, archive management and cataloging, with emphasis on the deployment of global best practices in restoration and preservation of fragile audiovisual materials.
Speaking after an assessment visit on the imperatives of the training workshop, Dr. Ali Nuhu, NFC’s Managing Director/Chief Executive averred that “Nigeria cannot afford to lose any of her vintage audio-visual records currently being secured at the NFVSA in Jos”. NFC, he said, “remains fully committed to not only preserving, but also in protecting the nations heritage”. Dr. Nuhu, commended Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Arts (Berlin, Germany), Deutsche Filminstitut and Filmmuseum (Frankfurt, Germany), Goethe University, Frankfurt and DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), for mounting the training workshop series and also for their sustained partnership with the NFC, on its transformative journey of elevating Nigeria’s status as a global cinematic powerhouse.
The Federal Government remains resolute in empowering the NFVSA as the foremost repository of Nigeria’s audiovisual heritage Dr. Nuhu said. He charged the trainees drawn from the NFVSA, Master Degree students of the Film Culture & Archiving Studies Programme, Lecturers of the National Film Institute Jos, Staff and Students of the University of Jos, as well as practicing film archiving stakeholders, to implement their new found expertise in revitalizing, safeguarding, preserving and protecting the nation’s rich audio-visual materials. Dr. Nuhu, was represented Mr. Edmund Peters, NFC’s Director of Film Industry Support & Production Services at the closing and certificate presentation ceremony.
Alo Paistik of the Goethe University, Markus Ruff and Lisabona Rahman of Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Arts; lead facilitators of the 11- days training workshop, commended NFC for its proactive approach to archival practice. “Engaging with NFC’s
dedicated staff and other trainees has been immensely rewarding. We are confident that the skills shared will catalyze transformative progress in Nigeria’s film restoration and archival management,” they jointly submitted. The University of Jos, through Professors Husseni Tsaku and Nancy King, present and immediate past Head of Department Theatre & Film Arts, at the closing ceremony applauded NFC and other partners for not only using the training workshop series to prioritize archival practice and the promotion of excellence, but also in strengthening the offerings of the Master Degree Program in Film Culture and Archiving Studies which the University of Jos is a partner.
At the closing ceremony and certificate presentation event (Friday, April 11, 2025) participant’s expressed their readiness to advance Nigeria’s archival preservation capabilities. They equally expressed their profound gratitude for the opportunity to participate, pledging to apply new skills, upscale their competences and drive the restoration, digitization, and management of Nigeria’s audiovisual treasures. “This training workshop, in the series, has further spiked our approach in archiving practices and management. We are now better equipped to protect audio-visual materials that tell Nigeria’s story,” an attendee, Mallam Idi Jimpy said.
The Preservation of Audiovisual Materials and Archival Practices training workshop, the 5th in the series, continues to shape NFC’s professional training, skills and capacity building initiatives, geared towards harnessing and empowering archivists.
