Kwara to become filmmakers’ haven — Gov. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq

Kwara State has been unveiled as the host for this year’s edition of the Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards, making it a huge destination for filmmakers around Nigeria and beyond.

The presentation of the hosting rights took place at the prestigious Sugar Factory Film Studios, Ilorin, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s latest offering for filmmakers and video content creators.

BON Awards, Nigeria’s longest running, travelling film industry award in the last 16 years has sustainably rewarded filmmakers around the country moving from state to state. Among the states where the award has previously been held are Oyo, Kano, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Abia, Ogun, Ondo, among others. This year’s event, slated for Ilorin, the Kwara State festival is billed to hold on Sunday, November 24

While speaking at the event, Seun Oloketuyi, founder of BON Awards said, we are indeed excited to have Kwara as the host for this year’s awards, and we can be sure that it will be a fulfilling experience. What this also means is that BON weekend in November will see about 500 Nollywood stars storm Kwara for the event, and when they see the welcoming atmosphere and enabling infrastructure, they can be sure that they are in the right place.”

Receiving the hosting rights of the award, Governor Abdulrazaq said the event will hold at the iconic Sugar Factory Film Studio which has been built to take the Nigerian creative industry to the next level through cutting-edge last mile, post production capabilities.

“We are honoured to be given the hosting rights for this year’s event (Best of Nollywood Award). As you can see, Kwara is ready to dominate the film industry. The intention for this Sugar Factory Film Studio is to take film production in Nigeria to another level.

“What we have seen in Africa and globally is that what we are producing (in Nigeria) are mostly videos. We want to move to another level of cinematography so that we can win global awards in film production. This is a reason for this facility.”

AbdulRazaq stated that hosting the BON Award will further market the Sugar Factory Film Studio to the movie industry, whose legends are coming for the event later this year.

“This is stage one of this facility. We intend to go to stage two and three, but we want stage one to be put in use. So, marketing this studio to the film industry is part of hosting this event and we will be glad to welcome at least 500 of the top film producers and active members of the film industry that day.

“Kwara State is the place to be. We know that this place will definitely be a catalyst for future production in the film industry. I welcome you to Kwara and to the future in the movie industry in Nigeria,” the Governor said.

The governor said the state is intentionally building a strong service and hospitality economy in phases to draw in quality human traffic. He said facilities like the Film Factory, Visual Arts Centre, International Conference Centre, and the Kwara Hotel are a part of the plan.

The brief ceremony was attended by top government officials and management of the Sugar Factory like the Managing Director, Sugar Factory Film Studio, Olugbenga Titiloye; and General Manager, Sugar Factory Film Studio, Mrs Grace Babasola.

Also present at the event were film stars, Yemi Blaq, Feyi Hassan, and Hon. Muka Ray Eyiwunmi, the Senior Special Assistant on Culture and Tourism to the Governor of Kwara. The Executive Director, Best of Nollywood, Feranmi Olaoye, was also on ground as part of the presentation team.

Titiloye, on his part, commended the governor for the huge investment in the facility and others, which he said can generate employment and revenue for the strategy.

He said Kwara was picked to organise the next event because of its peaceful atmosphere and the exceptional investments of the administration in the creative industry.

He said the Best of Nollywood Awards has always been a big event, and that close to 500 top film producers will attend the next edition in Kwara.

Rotimi Ige