Women in Kannywood want opportunities in filmmaking, others

President of Kannywood Women Association of Nigeria (K-WAN), Hauwa Bello, has called for capacity-building initiatives and other opportunities for female filmmakers in the industry.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kannywood is a soubriquet for Hausa-language cinema, a part of the larger Nigerian cinema, known as Nollywood.

Bello made the call in an interview with NAN on the sideline at the just concluded training conference organised by the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) at Kannywood TV Hall in Kano.

The interactive conference tagged ‘NFVCB meets Kannywood,’ brought together filmmakers, including directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, actors and skit makers within the industry.

The  Kannywood Women president told NAN that the Hausa film industry has an array of female actors who were doing well, but were yet to be really involved in production functions.

According to her, “the presence of women is yet to be felt in non-acting functions, such cinematography, directing, editing and other roles because of lack of  capacity building opportunities.”

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Bello, who is a seasoned editor, said the industry has been dominated by male filmmakers with no intentional platforms or initiatives to support their female counterparts.

“The objective of the association is to give opportunity for women to grow, to develop their capacities and strive because nobody is listening to us.

“Women are left behind because they do not have the courage to seek growth opportunities for themselves in filmmaking

“Their male counterparts are not supporting them enough in terms of the opportunities, and they  do not  call the few ones for jobs as professionals.

“At the moment, we have some popular women who are good scriptwriters and  cinematographers, but  we need more women involvement, especially in other areas,” she said.

The  K-WAN  president said contrary to what many industry watchers think, the minimal women involvement in filmmaking in the region has nothing to do with religion or marital status.

“Marriage or religion has nothing  to do with  editing, scriptwriting, makeup or directing  because a lot of such women are already taking up acting roles, which exposes you more.

“It is a matter of not having the motivation and opportunity to venture into such roles, because even at home, you can edit.

“That is why I created the association so that women can be encouraged, stand on their own and get things done like male filmmakers.

“So I am trying to push them into other areas and not only on acting because I want to see women succeed  as directors, cinematographers and in other areas,” she said.

Bello noted that empowerment initiatives for women thespians were predominantly found in the southern parts of the country which was a big boost for them.

She therefore called on key industry players and organisations that provide interventions for filmmakers to extend their programmes to Kannywood.(NAN)