Ngalagu Film Village Square under construction
Abia’s first Film Village for commissioning, to launch Ballywood films
[From BONIFACE OKORO, Umuahia]
First phase of a N50 million Film village project sitting on a 10-acre piece of land in the sleepy Umungalagu community of Eziama Nvosi in Isiala Ngwa South local government area of Abia State would be commissioned by the end of this month.
Known as Ngalagua Film Village, the project is a part of the Living Television Academy, located in Aba.
Chief Executive Officer of Living Television Academy, St. Moses Ogbonna, who conducted newsmen round the Ngalagua Film Village, announced that once the Federal Government gazettes the academy, the institution would launch into production of films that would be branded Ballywood.
“We have what we call, instead of Nollywood, our own is Ballywood, an acronym from Aba; so that every student that graduates from our academy, majoring in film or any segment of movie production, will now register as an accredited or licensed professional with the Ballywood so that you will be a professional in every segment of the movie industry, Ogbonna said.
Ogbonna, told Oracle Today during a tour of the Film Village Tuesday that a film fair, African Film Festival and Ngwa Cultural festival would hold at the Village annually, apart from film shooting.
Ogbonna said that film audition would commence from August 27, ahead of the proposed commissioning. Already, a shrine, three villages and an expansive Village Square has been built in the Film Village. Ogbonna said that soon after the commissioning of the first phase of the Ngalagu Film Village, the Academy would embark on building of hostels for students and actors who may want to use facilities in the village.
“The village will house up to 13 epic houses and the whole of the area we have converted into a film city,” he added.
Ogbonna, a lawyer by profession and a staunch politician of the Ngwa stock, said he established the academy to provide practical training for students to make them self-reliant upon graduation.
“It has been my desire to establish something that will impact on people, that will put smiles on the faces of people; a medium through which I will impact on people using the gift God has given to me, for the benefit of those who have and those who do not have.
“I have seen that most of the schools and universities that we attend, apart from being a doctor or a lawyer, many of them are not practically-oriented. So I now established this Film and Mass Communication school which is practical-oriented so that when you graduate, you will no longer become an applicant but you will be able to establish on your own, you will be able to fend for yourself, fend for your family and train people as well. That is why I have established this school,” the CEO said.
The two-year old Living Television and Film Academy, the first of such institution to be established in the South East, offers course in Journalism and Media Studies, Information and Media Studies, Film and Multimedia Studies and Broadcasting.
The school is already affiliated to Eastern Polytechnic, Port Harcourt, to award National Diploma, Higher National Diploma and Degrees, even as discussions were equally ongoing with different universities also for affiliations.
