Enhancing Nollywood professionalism was the central theme as industry veterans Kunle Afolayan, Tunde Kelani, and Mildred Okwo met at Lagos’s MUSON Centre to discuss Nigerian cinema’s future.
This wasn’t just another industry event. The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) hosted its maiden Masterclass Series 1.0 across several days in mid-July 2026, concluding around July 18, 2026. The series, themed “Professionalism, Innovation, and Sustainability,” represented a crucial shift for the industry.
The urgent call for professional boundaries
It was a proactive step to address long-standing challenges holding back one of Africa’s most vibrant cultural exports. For many, it felt like a necessary reckoning. But for those familiar with the rhythms of Nigerian progress, this call for renewed standards carries a deeper resonance, echoing a persistent national dialogue about structure and integrity.
Joke Silva, a name synonymous with cinematic excellence, didn’t hold back in her keynote address. She highlighted a deeply ingrained issue: the tendency for practitioners to “wear too many hats at once.” This isn’t just about multi-tasking; she argued it fuels conflict and fundamentally weakens the industry from within.
Imagine a producer, actor, director, and guild executive all rolled into one. Silva argued that such overlaps often lead to severe conflicts of interest, making objective decision-making impossible. True professionalism, she insisted, requires individuals to respect their specific roles and represent those interests without personal commercial bias.
She painted a vivid picture of the consequences: compromised trust, stalled investment, and a perpetuation of practices that undermine the industry’s vast potential. Professionalism, for Silva, is the alchemy that transforms raw talent into a respected, bankable enterprise. It’s the foundation upon which any serious industry is built.
Silva then laid out the concrete markers of this professionalism. Honouring contracts, meeting deadlines, ensuring transparent finances, rigorously protecting intellectual property (IP), and strengthening industry guilds. These aren’t optional extras; they’re the non-negotiables for a thriving creative economy.
The heavy cost of informal structures
The veteran actress issued a stark warning about the price of neglecting these standards. Without them, international investors remain cautious, distribution opportunities on the global stage shrink, and piracy continues to thrive. When trust is absent, potential partners look elsewhere, leaving Nollywood operating below its capacity.
Nollywood’s origin story is one of audacious self-reliance, born in the early 1990s out of a hunger for local storytelling. Filmmakers, often with minimal budgets and informal crews, built an industry from scratch. This grassroots spirit is commendable, but it also embedded certain informalities that now hinder its global ambitions.
The current push isn’t about erasing that pioneering spirit. Instead, it’s about refining it, infusing it with the discipline needed to compete on the world stage. Silva’s call is a demand for maturity, a recognition that global success requires moving beyond practices that, while understandable in a nascent industry, are unsustainable for a powerhouse.
She concluded this part by stating that professionalism creates the necessary trust for investment and international partnerships. Innovation ensures global competitiveness, and sustainability guarantees long-term growth. NFVCB, she commended, is finally shifting from identifying problems to implementing real solutions, a move welcomed by many, including filmmaker Victor Okhai and actress Dayo Amusa, who were among the notable attendees.
Elevating production standards for global impact
Filmmaker and producer Dr. Femi Odugbemi then picked up the baton, shifting focus to the artistic and technical demands. He facilitated a session aptly titled “Production Standards and Best Practices.” Odugbemi described film not as a collection of individual efforts, but as an intricate ecosystem.
Every department matters, he stressed, because a weak link compromises the entire output. His message was unequivocal: every single detail must be perfected during production. This is especially true now, in an age where films, once uploaded, instantly become global commodities.
There’s no hiding place for shoddy work; the internet ensures worldwide scrutiny and judgment. Odugbemi urged Nollywood to delve deeper into its own heritage, telling original Nigerian stories rooted in culture and tradition. He believes epic narratives, specifically, have the power to transcend borders and captivate global audiences.
This means moving beyond repetitive, formulaic love stories that have, at times, dominated the industry’s output. Understanding target audiences, investing in knowledge exchange through travel, and a continuous pursuit of learning are all crucial, Odugbemi explained. Professionalism, he argued, must be evident at every stage of filmmaking.
Storytelling beyond formulaic narratives
This isn’t merely an aesthetic preference; it’s a strategic imperative for the Nigerian film industry. Nigeria is a land of a thousand stories, each one a potential blockbuster waiting to be told. Yet, a reliance on familiar tropes often limits Nollywood’s reach and ability to truly differentiate itself on the international circuit.
Odugbemi’s vision is for an industry that embraces global best practices without sacrificing its unique voice. He called for discipline, collaboration, and a relentless focus on quality. Building a globally respected film industry isn’t just about talent; it’s about the grit and consistency to match that talent with world-class standards.
The digital era, with its streaming platforms and new business models, demands constant adaptation. Dr. Shaibu Husseini, the Executive Director/CEO of NFVCB, underscored this point. He emphasized that continuous learning is not just beneficial, it’s essential for survival and competitiveness.
A board reimagines its role
Dr. Shaibu Husseini’s presence and pronouncements at the masterclass signaled a strategic pivot for the National Film and Video Censors Board. Historically, the NFVCB has been largely associated with classification and censorship. Now, under Husseini’s leadership, it’s clearly attempting to broaden its mandate.
The masterclass, he explained, directly addressed intellectual property protection, building sustainable creative businesses, and elevating production standards. This proactive approach marks a significant departure. It demonstrates a recognition that regulation alone cannot build a thriving industry; capacity building is equally vital.
Other facilitators, like entertainment lawyer Sandra Oyewole, media executive Adetutu Laditan, and intellectual property lawyer Caleb Nmeribe, also contributed. Nmeribe reminded participants that copyright protects creative works, not ideas, stressing the importance of written agreements to safeguard creations.
This shift isn’t without historical precedent. Many Nigerian regulatory bodies, initially conceived for oversight, have eventually found themselves needing to play a developmental role. From the Central Bank of Nigeria managing economic crises to various professional bodies setting industry benchmarks, the path to maturity often involves expanding beyond original parameters.
The NFVCB Masterclass Series is slated to become a regular fixture, promising ongoing learning and professional development. This commitment hints at a future where the board acts not just as a gatekeeper, but as a crucial enabler for the film and audiovisual industry.
It’s a pragmatic recognition of how to best serve a dynamic and rapidly evolving sector, a promise made at the 5th PAO Nigerian Digital Regulatory Conference in November 2025.
The enduring echoes of a familiar struggle
The calls for professionalism and improved standards at the NFVCB Masterclass are more than just industry talking points. They resonate deeply with a recurring challenge in Nigeria’s development story. Time and again, grand visions for progress have confronted the complexities of implementation, accountability, and systemic integrity.
From early post-independence efforts to establish robust public institutions to more recent pushes for ethical governance, the journey has been marked by a constant struggle to formalize and professionalize. Whether it’s the banking sector, the legal profession, or even the civil service, the tension between informal traditions and modern demands persists. Addressing systemic issues often requires concerted, long-term effort.
Nollywood, in its quest for global recognition, now finds itself at a similar crossroads. Its phenomenal rise has shown the world what Nigerian creativity can achieve. But sustaining that success, and building truly generational institutions, demands an internal transformation. It requires embracing the discipline that transforms raw talent into enduring legacy.
The lessons from this masterclass extend far beyond film sets. They speak to any sector in Nigeria seeking to break free from cycles of underdevelopment. It’s about recognizing that genius alone isn’t enough; it must be coupled with rigorous standards, ethical conduct, and a steadfast commitment to excellence.
What transpired at the MUSON Centre wasn’t just a workshop; it was a mirror reflecting Nigeria’s broader aspirations. It shows us that the journey towards a truly great nation isn’t just about big ideas, but about the painstaking, often difficult, work of embedding professionalism into every facet of our collective endeavor.
The conversation started by Joke Silva and Femi Odugbemi reminds us that history isn’t just what happened; it’s the ongoing work of making sure tomorrow is built on stronger foundations than yesterday.
