The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), have joined forces to expand opportunities for women in film technology, stating that equitable access to technical roles is essential to telling Nigeria’s complete story. At a one-day stakeholder engagement held in Jos, Plateau State (on August 6th, 2026), participants, which included filmmakers, content creators, film industry guilds and associations, development partners, scholars, training instructors, film students, federal and state government agencies; agreed that training more women as DOP’s, editors, sound engineers, production designers among others, will improve the quality, authenticity and global competitiveness of Nollywood.
In his address to flag off the stakeholder engagement, NFC’s Managing Director/Chief Executive, Dr. Ali Nuhu said that women have remained significantly underrepresented in film production technical roles, often facing several unconscious biases including lack of training and mentorship opportunities; a scenario he said, require urgent attention and remedy. “We cannot tell the complete story of Nigeria if women are missing from behind the camera”. Equitable access to technical roles is not just an inclusion, but about excellence, he averred while highlighting NFC’s strategic vision to dismantle systemic barriers that have historically limited the growth of women in film; which is, through training and retraining, capacity building, access to funding, and mentorship opportunities. On the fortunes and future of Nigeria’s film industry, Nuhu said that the next generation of Nigerian stories will be told with better craft, wider domestic and global resonation, if women are deliberately brought into technical roles. With more women involved, “we will move from just telling stories to shaping national identity and securing Nigeria’s identity through film”. Brian Etuk, NFC’s Director of Public Affairs represented Dr. Nuhu at the stakeholder engagement.
Speaking earlier, Mr. Iroseyike Raphael Okodugha, Vocational Training and Labour Market Advisor of GIZ, commended the partnership of NFC through its training arm – the National Film Institute (NFI) in driving the project initiative intended to scale female participation in filmmaking. This “engagement in Jos is about turning conversations into action”. By investing in skills development, mentorship and monetization opportunities for women in film technology, “we are investing in the quality of Nigeria’s national narratives”, and securing the future of Nollywood.
Other speakers at the stakeholder engagement included Professor Pomak Tengya, Rector, National Film Institute (NFI), Dr. Ephraim Danques, Director General of the Arts, Culture and Creative Economy Agency and Special Adviser to the Governor of Plateau State, Mrs. Nene Dung of the Plateau State Gender & Equal Opportunities Commission and Mrs. Jenifer Turay of the Plateau State Microfinance Development Agency (PLASMIDA). The event was joint facilitated by Stella Yusuf Dimlong, Coordinator – GIZ -SKYE, Plateau State and Vocational Training and Labour Market Advisor; Mrs. Brenda Fashugba, Lead Consultant for the GIZ-SKYE Female Labour Force Participation in Filmmaking (FLFP) project and Mrs. Fulfillment Nwaturuocha, also a GIZ – FLFP Consultant. Hon. Information Commissioner, Plateau State – Mrs. Joy Ramnap (Overseeing the Ministry of Arts, Culture & Tourism) pledged the commitment of the State Government to sustain its advocacy for inclusive opportunities for the female gender in all spheres of the nation’s development.
The NFC-GIZ initiative pledges to provide targeted training, mentorship, technical skills transfer windows, that will equip female filmmakers with the tools and opportunities to excel in technical areas of filmmaking; a derivable from the ongoing extensive survey of the nation’s film industry (Plateau State inclusive); through mapping, identification of challenges, and the co-creation of sustainable solutions.
