FilmOne Entertainment has announced the establishment of an international capital fund created specially for investing in a slate of Nigerian Films.
Major investors in the fund are Huahua Media, a Chinese company known for investing in blockbuster Hollywood movies and most recently AY’s ‘30 Days in China’ and a host of other leading independent studios and producers. The collaboration is expected to assist in identifying films with the most potential for theatrical release and box office successes in global markets.
Top executives of Huahua and FilmOne who witnessed the signing included Chu Maoming, Consul General, People’s Republic of China and Uju Emagha, Zonal Coordinator, National Film and Videos Censors Board, representing the Executive Director, Adedayo Thomas. Kefei Wang, CEO, Huahua Media; Johnny Fu Cong, Huahua Media; Kene Okwuosa, Co-Founder, FilmOne; Moses Babatope, Co-Founder, FilmOne; and Chinaza Onuzo, Director, FilmOne.
In his remarks, Consul General, Chu Maoming welcomed the new development, saying: “This is the very first film fund between Chinese and African partners, signalling a growing interest in Nollywood by China and the international film community. We welcome this partnership between Chinese and African companies, as they seek to increase the number of premium Nollywood films being made, by providing filmmakers with bigger budgets and technical advice to improve the quality of their films.”
Managing Director FilmOne, Moses Babatope, expressed delight about what the fund means for the Nigerian film industry.
“This is the first of many investments being planned by Huahua, Empire Entertainment (South Africa) and FilmOne, to take Nollywood to a much higher level of production quality and global appreciation of our content. Our filmmakers have the talent, but lack access to the capital that would allow them to produce the movies they dream about. This fund aims to change that paradigm by partnering with them, to provide the resources they need to make better films, and create more jobs and opportunities for other creatives,” he said.
Babatope also gave credit to the Nigerian government for the ease with which the visit of Huahua executives was made possible, as well as the support of the National Film and Videos Censors Board.