You will recall that the Nigerian Film Corporation , in its determination to use the film festival platform to sustain the narratives for the development of this sector in 2017, decided that ZUMA Film Festival should be held yearly as against the biennial status before I resumed office as managing director. Since then, as part of the rebranding, we have succeeded and used each edition, that is the 2018, 2019, as well as 2020, to propel the development of a new national film policy.
Well, the challenges posed by COVID-19 were part of the top critical considerations in hosting the 2020 edition. This, and other issues, equally, was the stimulating impetus that led to our choice of virtual participation, in line with COVID-19 safety protocols. It is commendable that our regular and new attendees, our partner’s and sponsors embraced this hybrid film festival format as part of our COVID-19 response.
I also salute the jury for doing a wonderful work of having to go through 3068 film entries, from 120 countries for ZUMA film Festival 2020, and selecting those worthy for the film festival awards. My deep appreciation to the government for empowering the NFC to deliver on its mandate. We are determined to continue to successfully engage in film production activities that are in line with current governments policy thrust and vision under the Economic Recovery Growth Plan .