The President of Association of Nollywood Core Producers (ANCOP) and Vice President of the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), Comrade Alex Eyengho is among few Nigerian Filmmakers in attendance at the 2013 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Canada, holding between September 5 to 15, 2013.
Comrade Eyengho is specifically a member of the high-powered delegation of the Nigerian Entertainment Business Group (NEBG) under the leadership of ace filmmaker, Mrs. Amaka Igwe. Other members of the delegation are Gab Okoye (Igwe Gabosky), Charle Igwe and Mrs. Ego Boyo. NEBG is in Toronto mainly to discuss business with their counterparts in Canada with a view to adding value to Nollywood specifically and the Nigerian entertainment industry generally.
“The NEBG is here in TIFF, Canada to discuss and do business. Several meetings have been scheduled and confirmed. We shall be meeting with Pinewood Studios, Sheridan College SIRT, Alpha Galore Films, Canadian Media Production Association, Banks, Spin VFS Studios, Digital Media Industry of Ontario, Hot Docs, etc. The aim is to concretize business relationships between these high-profile international institutions and the Nigerian Motion Picture industry. We have the strong support of the Canadian High Commission in Nigeria in putting all this together. Of course, I am here representing the interest of ANCOP primarily but the benefits will rub off on the industry as a whole”, Comrade Eyengho stated.
The ANCOP leader who is the first African to be elected as a Vice President of FIAPF, noted that what NEBG which is not an association or guild is doing, is a pointer to the fact that most association and guild presidents in Nollywood have failed their members in terms of adding value. “It is not enough for these so-called presidents to look for Governor Akpabio’s fifty million naira to embezle. It is not about junketing about from one dinner to the other. It is not about oscilating in Surulere, Lagos, thinking that Nollywood starts and ends there. Leadership is all about looking outside the box and taking your followers from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ untill they get to their final destination. It is all about adding value to their professional lives. That is the essence of subscribing to an association or guild. But all we have in Nollywood today are selfish presidents who think only of themselves and family to the detriment of their members. This is what stands ANCOP out from the crowd”, he added.
