The Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Toye Arulogun, has hinted of the initiative by the present government under the leadership of Senator Abiola Ajimobi to build a word-class film city for the state.
Arulogun made the disclosure during a brief chat with newsmen at the recently-concluded Badagry Diaspora Festival.
He said the necessity for the film village was contingent on the current administration’s quest to promote the culture and history of Yoruba through movie production as well as to bridge the gap between cost and content in the movie industry.
The commissioner, speaking on the role of the movie industry in connecting audiences to Africa said: “Nollywood is our emissary to the world. Seeing the beauty and splendour of our culture, Africans in diaspora have come to reconnect with their African roots through of our movies and music.
“But we have quite tapped from this industry. Most of the movies available in most of these countries are pirated. How can we bridge that gap?
“We need to tap into this aspect of the economy especially the content. We need to do more movies that project the vital aspects of our culture and history. We need to tap into the diversity of our people and help direct the needed cultural renaissance that Africa so dearly needs.
“In terms of domesticating the film culture, one of the things we like to do in Oyo State right now is to have a film city.”
Arulogun did not, however, mention the site or timeline for the proposed film city.
He simply said, “It is coming up.”