Creative Industry

Zuma Film Festival gets December 1st 2023 As kick-off Date

Published

3 years ago

June 8, 2023

Joel Ajayi

Organizer of one of the best festivals in the country Zuma Film Festival (ZUFF) has announced that 2023 edition of the festival will hold between December 1st till 10th later this year in the federal capital city on Nigeria.

The festival, which has continued to witness massive domestic, continental and global participation as well as attendance over the years especially since it got being held annually from year 2017 till date.
This was contained in a statement issued in Abuja, and signed by Brian Etuk, spokesperson for Zuma Film Festival; and Public Affairs Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation.

The statement which outlined some of the key programmes of the 10-day gathering of captains of the film and television industry as well as other stakeholders from across Nigeria, and beyond the continent, will once more present the best of Nigeria’s creative, film and entertainment industry to the world, Etuk said. ZUMA Film Festival 2023, will be the second in the series of a 10-year collaborative partnership for the joint hosting of the annual film event by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC).

Themed “Cultural Convergence”, the festival will focus on harnessing potentials and opportunities inherent in the convergence of diverse cultures of the world through the audio-visual medium.

Programme bouquet of the festival include daily film screening, film master classes, symposia, film and television market, content creation and exhibition fora, film project pitching sessions, co-production engagements, annual film lecture, states and foreign nations (Embassy/High Commission) special days; special lifetime tributes, zuma awards; and the second leg of the Nigeria – South Africa Film Festival.

The first leg, known as the South Africa-Nigeria Film Festival will take place during the 44th edition of Durban Film Festival/Film Mart Institute – July 20th – 30th, 2023. Expected during the December film fiesta will be a robust continental and global film stakeholder and film commission participation and attendance, who will join Nigeria’s stakeholders in bringing their wealth and experiences to bear at the various festival programmes.

Their engagements will form part of the unifying efforts by participants in the promotion of global peace, progress and development using the audio-visual medium.

NFC’s Managing Director/Chief Executive, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe, on behalf of the Corporation and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says that efforts in mounting a successful Zuma film festival 2023, are in top gear, given the successful outing of 2022, and the global importance of such an activity.

Dr. Maduekwe assured that both the FCTA and the NFC are committed to mounting an impactful ZUFF 2023, whose preparations, including invitations to potential sponsors and partners are being sustained. He equally assured that various sub-committees have been constituted to effectively drive the film festival.

The International Conference Centre, Abuja, he maintained will be a beehive of film festival activities and engagements, with opportunities to promote Nigeria’s dominance of the continental creative economy.

According to Dr. Maduekwe, ZUFF 2023, the 13th in the series will among others, provide a platform for the recognition of Nigerian film makers who have or are adding the needed value to the development of the art and business of filmmaking. Equally, Dr. Maduekwe explained that the vast growth and great potentials within the film sector of Nigeria makes it imperative for a continuous robust domestic, continental and global engagement where those who develop and produce content for film and television are accessed to opportunities of funding, marketing, distribution and exhibition.

“We must continue to create opportunities through platforms such as Zuma film festival, to deploy our energy and resources to harness the rich diverse continental yet beautiful cultures, in promoting people-to-people interaction, peace, economic prosperity and development”.

The statement added that call for, and mode of submission of film entries will soon be made public, having already constituted the Jury for the film festival which will also be announced, along with ZUFF 2023 film freeway and website addresses soon.

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Creative Industry

FG Backs MyCityApp Launch of 100-Day Tourism Calendar to Drive $100bn Economic Growth

Published

3 weeks ago

September 15, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Federal Government has thrown its weight behind the launch of MyCityApp, a Nigerian city discovery and tourism platform designed to aggregate festivals, concerts, cultural events and lifestyle experiences into a single digital calendar.

The platform, which flags off the 100-Day Tourism Calendar, was unveiled on Monday at the Ember2Remember National Stakeholders’ Conference in Victoria Island, Lagos, with the initiative targeting Nigeria’s estimated $100 billion tourism and creative economy opportunity.

In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the Media and Publicity Adviser to the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, the ministry said the conference was aimed at mobilising public and private stakeholders to transform the September-to-December festive period into jobs, investment and economic growth.

Speaking at the unveiling, the Minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said millions of visitors travel across Nigeria every year to celebrate, reconnect and experience the country’s diverse culture, stressing that the festive season could be deliberately organised and monetised to strengthen tourism’s contribution to the economy.

“This initiative is about moving beyond the traditional concept of a festive season. It is about deliberately organising, packaging, promoting, and monetising one of the most economically active periods in our national calendar,” Musawa said.

She noted that every visitor generates economic activity across several sectors, including aviation, transportation, hospitality, restaurants, entertainment, retail, technology, artisans and local communities.

The Minister commended MyCityApp Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Ifeoma Chukwu, for her vision and commitment to the initiative.

She urged state governments, event organisers, tourism operators, hospitality businesses and other stakeholders to list their festivals, concerts, exhibitions, food experiences, cultural celebrations, fashion and sporting events on the national calendar.

Musawa said the platform would enable Nigerians, members of the diaspora and international visitors to discover tourism and entertainment experiences across the country from a single, credible source.

Earlier, Chukwu said Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and creative sector provided enormous opportunities for tourism-driven economic growth.

She cited the contributions of tourism to the economies of countries such as Spain, France and the United States, arguing that Nigeria could equally build a $100 billion tourism economy.

Also present were Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson-Awoyinka; Enugu State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ugochi Madueke; NCAC Director-General, Obi Asika; National Gallery of Art Director-General, Ahmed Sodangi; ARCON Director-General, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo; and MTN Nigeria CEO, Dr Karl Toriola.

MyLagosApp and MyCityApp will serve as the digital engines of the calendar, distributing events through a 360-degree media ecosystem to audiences in Nigeria and the diaspora.

Stakeholders were encouraged to upload their events on MyCityApp to participate in the national tourism calendar urging them to upload events on http://www.MyCityApp.io.

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