Benjamin Omoike l Monday, June 01, 2020
LAGOS, Nigeria – In a bid to train young Nollywood screenwriters, LAFAAAC, in partnership with Wazobia FM/TV and La Fémis, and with the support of the French Embassy in Nigeria, have launched an ambitious and innovative training programme.
Developing the skills of young African professionals in the Creative Industries – this is what LAFAAAC, a young French start-up launched in 2017, aims for.
LAFAAAC offers innovative training courses combining online and classroom training, enhanced by partnerships in France and Africa for a comprehensive offer adapted to local needs.
The African continent is about to become the next hub of creative industries, whose backbone is Nollywood, one of the world’s giant in audiovisual and cinematographic production. But if African productions are gaining more and more international recognition, such as the recent first original Nigerian series premiered on Netflix, the growth and influence of African original contents are still hampered by a limited training offer. Moreover, French stakeholders in the field remain few.
For these reasons, Nigeria is among the 37 countries for which the Creative Industry is a priority for the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, due to its high potential in the country.
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The French Embassy in Nigeria has taken the lead to implement a Solidarity Fund for Innovative Projects called “Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI): a new challenge of Development and Influence in Nigeria” (FSPIICCDIN). The project is threefold: (1) Identifying and supporting the development of innovative projects in three sectors (video games, animation and virtual reality); (2) Promoting French training contents adapted to the needs of Nigerian audiovisual professionals; (3) Preserving and enhancing the cultural heritage thanks to CCIs. In particular, the second component aims for LAFAAAC to launch a new training offer focused on the fundamentals of screenwriting dedicated to future young Nigerian screenwriters.
The French cinema school La Fémis, through its “TV Series” department, is a partner in the project, to contribute to its overall educational engineering.
In the spring of 2021, LAFAAAC will make available a complete training course on the fundamentals of television screenwriting. The training will combine different complementary educational methods: mobile learning, masterclass, animated tutorials, virtual classes and workshops, all developed with wellknown experts to develop the best of each tool. Among these professionals, the Nigerian group Wazobia, leader in radio and television, a partner of LAFAAAC which will help adapt the offer to the specific needs of Nigeria through its recent initiative Filmlab Nigeria.
Olivier PASCAL, co-founder and CEO of LAFAAAC, believes that “The strength of our project is to combine the best of French educational training and the practices of Nigerian professionals, all accelerated by the power of digital. LAFAAAC is proud to strengthen its partnership with Wazobia through this initiative of the French Embassy, for the benefit of young Nigerian creatives.”
Rafaël Pont, Advisor for Cooperation and Cultural Action at the French Embassy at Nigeria, affirms that “Our support for LAFAAAC is part of the implementation of the Solidarity Fund for Innovative Projects dedicated to the development of Cultural and Creative Industries in Nigeria. It has been entrusted to us for a period of two years (2020-21) and responds to a priority of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. Its objective is to stimulate cultural entrepreneurship in Nigeria, capacity building and governance policies in the audiovisual, interactive media and cultural heritage sectors.”
Tatiana Moussalli Nouri, Co-Founder and CEO of Wazobia, affirms that “Nigeria is loaded with fantastic talents and this collaboration will contribute further in the capacity building and continuous learning that Wazobia has been championing through our knowhow and pioneer position in the industry. We are confident that our collaboration with LAFAAAC, a successful startup, and the French Embassy in Nigeria, we will successfully deliver value to the creative industry in Nigeria.”
