Abuja – Mr Raph Nwadike, National President, Association of Movie Producers (AMP), has said that the association was ready to check quackery in the movie industry, popularly known as Nollywood.
Nwadike told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja that this was part of measures by Nollywood producers to rid the Nigerian market of low quality movies.
He said: “the situation where someone just comes from anywhere and starts producing films without identifying with the registered body is inimical to the industry.
“You can’t do that in the United Kingdom, the United States and other parts of the world.
“Some of the movies in the Nigerian market are not actually produced by AMP members; this is one of the reasons you see substandard movies in the market.’’
The president said that some movie producers, who were not registered members of the association, operate unchecked.
He said that as part of its anti-quackery campaign, the association would work with relevant authorities during the year to sanitise the industry.
“The association is already discussing with the National Film and Video Censor Board as path of our efforts to fight quackery.
“If you are not a registered member of AMP, your film will no longer be censored.
“If you think you are a producer, come and join us so that we can give you the dos and don’ts of movie production,’’ he said.
Nwadike said that the association would also take up the issue of quacks in the industry with the EFCC and the Nigeria Police, saying “it has become a matter of economic sabotage.’’
He urged registered movie producers to improve on the quality of their productions to enable them compete favourably anywhere in the world.
“Among the members of our association, we are encouraged to produce films that are up to standard, because a bad movie is an embarrassment not only to the producer but the entire industry.
“This is why we organise periodic refresher courses, within and outside Nigeria, for our members to be up-to-date in film production as obtainable in other developed climes.
“This is the 21st century; the quality of our films must be of international standard that will be acceptable anywhere in the world,” Nwadike said. (NAN)