Actress Lupita Nyong'o celebrates winning Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role award for "12 Years a Slave" during the Oscars at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, the United States, on March 2, 2014. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)
NAIROBI, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's film industry generated 72 million U.S. dollars in 2016, creating direct and indirect employment to more than 100,000 people.
Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) CEO Dr Ezekiel Mutua told a media briefing in Nairobi that with the new advancements in technology such as the emergence of Over the Top Service providers and Digital Television broadcasting, the industry promises to generate even more income in 2017.
"There is no doubt that the film industry will make a great contribution to the country's economy, enhancing Kenya's Gross Domestic Product drastically," Mutua said during a ceremony to sponsor the Riverwood Academy Awards 2017.
The KFCB has embarked on a series of reforms aimed at facilitating growth in the industry.
Kenya's Oscar Award Winner Lupita Nyong'o (L) talks to her grandmother during her visit to her ancestral home of Ratta village in Kisumu county, Kenya, July 1, 2015. Lupita Nyong'o was the chief guest at a school mentorship programme that was attended by more than 150 students from various schools within Kisumu county. (Xinhua/Simbi Kusimba)
The film regulator has also initiated the process of reviewing the Film and Stage Plays Act to spur growth in the creative industry and to protect children from being exposed to harmful film and broadcast content.
The CEO added that the board is implementing initiatives to support local artistes and producers.
"Our main goal is to nurture talent and create opportunities for training for players in the industry, and more employment opportunities through entrepreneurial ventures in the creative sector," he added.
Mutua said that the expansion of the sector will be achieved through training and exposing local producers to new technologies in film production.
The film regulator is also in the process of establishing a cutting-edge Creative Arts Center of Excellence.
Actor perform during the closing and award ceremony of the 2013 Slum Film Festival in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Sept. 9, 2013. Founded in 2011 in Nairobi, the Slum Film Festival is a community-based annual film event featuring stories from, by, and about people living in urban slums. (Xinhua/Meng Chenguang)
The CEO said that the facility will provide training opportunities in various creative arts, including film and music, and will provide production equipment to aspiring producers at subsidized rates.
The centre will be a one-stop hub for nurturing creative talent among the youth.
Mutua said that Kenya has some of the best filming locations in the world and so there is need to work together with all stakeholders to turn these advantages into money-making ventures for our artistes.
"This will in turn increase the volume of content produced locally so that the country can attain the 40 percent local content threshold that is expected of broadcasters in order to promote local creators of content and reclaim Kenyan culture, national values and aspirations," Mutua added.
