The Cross River Government has trained no fewer than 300 youths in various aspects of filmmaking under its ‘Cross River Next Stars Initiative’, as part of efforts to promote youth empowerment and self-reliance.
The Chairman of the Cross River Youth Empowerment Scheme, Dr Kalita Aruku, disclosed this in Calabar on Wednesday while explaining the initiative.
Aruku said the program sought to take youth empowerment beyond the distribution of equipment by equipping beneficiaries with practical skills that support sustainable careers in the creative industry.
He said the training covered acting, directing, scriptwriting, cinematography, lighting, content creation, makeup and costume design.
According to him, the initiative would also support the state’s tourism agenda, noting that entertainment plays a key role in tourism development.
“Cross River prides itself as the number one tourist destination in Africa, so we cannot talk about tourism without entertainment.
“In our bid to also promote the tourism drive of the Gov. Bassey Otu-led government, we decided to bring out this program to train young people who are interested in the creative industry,” he said.
Aruku said the beneficiaries would advance to the next phase, which would give them hands-on experience in movie production while creating opportunities to earn from their skills.
“The participants will be given opportunities to practice their skills and earn income from their craft,” he said.
He added that established professionals in the Nigerian film industry had been engaged to mentor the trainees and expose them to practical industry knowledge.
According to him, the scheme also plans to collaborate with established actors and other industry professionals to produce films featuring talented beneficiaries.
He said the collaboration would allow the young filmmakers and actors to benefit from the experience, visibility and professional networks of established practitioners.
On the sustainability of the program, Aruku said the scheme would work with the state’s Caliwood industry, established by the government to promote film production in Cross River.
“The government has set up a Caliwood industry, so there is a department for Caliwood with a mandate to start movie production,” he said.
Aruku said the trainees would eventually be integrated into Caliwood productions, with the industry expected to become self-sustaining after its initial production phases.
He also disclosed that the empowerment scheme would extend its intervention to sports, particularly football, through a planned talent identification program.
He said the government would invite professional footballers, coaches and scouts to identify promising young players across the state.
“We are going to organize football competitions and then take those talents from Cross River to Europe.
“Those who are scouted and deemed good enough to be sponsored out of the country to places where clubs need their services will be supported by the government,” he said.
Also speaking, Nollywood actor Charles Inojie commended the organizers for the quality and deliberate approach to the training.
Inojie said the growing number of participants reflected the program’s impact, noting that some beneficiaries had returned to their communities and had encouraged others to join through word of mouth.
He expressed optimism that the initiative could achieve lasting results if the organizers maintained the quality of its training and mentorship.
“I am particularly impressed with the intentionality of the organizers and the quality of knowledge that has been dished out,” Inojie said.
The actor also praised the state government for supporting the initiative, attributing the quality of the program to the leadership of Gov. Bassey Otu.
“I often say that when you walk into any organization or institution, the quality of communication and interaction that you encounter is always a function of who is at the head,” he said.
Inojie expressed satisfaction with his involvement in the program and commended the state for investing in young people and the creative sector.
