How WIMPRO Film Academy will reshape Nollywood – Elder Wisdom Isaac

Film entrepreneur, Elder Wisdom Isaac in this interview, with ORJI ONYEKWERE talks about his new initiative, WIMPRO International Film Academy, situated in Rivers State to develop the manpower required to drive Nigeria’s audio-visual industry based on global hands-on educational curriculum.  

Excerpts

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s creative industry, including Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, gathered in Port Harcourt to unveil a film academy you founded…

Yes, it feels good and I am deeply appreciative of the gesture. From the minister to the governor of Rivers State who sent a representative to the guild heads in Nollywood and heads of government agencies at both state and national level, I value that support with their presence, which is a confirmation that our mission to boost capacity in the film industry is a step in the right direction. They all inspected our facilities for the hands-on training and they were impressed at our level of preparedness. Wimpro Academy is out to make the Niger Delta the hub of manpower development in the film industry.

What was the personal spark that convinced you that a film academy is important at this stage?

Although I am a business man with interests in oil and gas and real estate, I have always been nursed a love for the cultural industries- film, music, literature and spirituality. So, when I produced my first film – The Creek last year, I experienced a scarcity of top-quality creatives, especially on the technical side of filmmaking- editors, cinematographers, lighting designers. As someone that thinks more industry ecosystem than splintered segments of it, I decided to start a film school to fill that gap, particularly in the Niger delta region, by providing top quality, hands-on training designed and taught by international experts in various aspects of filmmaking for our teeming youths and local people.

Do you feel traditional educational paths are falling short of the requirements for modern filmmaking?

In my opinion, every course of study is important and useful. I have a few people working in my team who studied Theatre Arts and Mass Communication at universities. They possess general creative skills which have their own value. However, there’s no course that prepares you for a career in filmmaking better than those taught in film schools. I believe therefore that with foundational degree in whatever, aspiring filmmakers and creative entrepreneurs should put themselves through film school in order to master both the art and craft of the various aspects of filmmaking- from writing to directing, from editing to monetising.

Wimpro will require a lot of facilities to actualise its training goals. How are you doing in terms of securing both facilities and faculty members required to ensure world-class training?

I am a man who puts my heart and soul into whatever I do. So, my vision for Wimpro International Film Academy was not just to be another film school in Nigeria. I envisioned it to be the very best. To achieve that, we needed the best of facilities, state-of-the-art equipment and world class teaching team drawn from international practitioners and the best of Nollywood. So, WIMPRO International Film Academy is taking off from our campus in GRA area of Port Harcourt, equipped with air-conditioned classrooms that can take in excess of 500 students, a fully equipped sound stage, a screening theatre, an actors’ studio and a 25-unit editing suit with the most up-to-date hardware and software. Additionally, we have a 200-capacity hostel facility for students coming from outside of Port Harcourt. We hold an inventory of state-of-the-art camera systems from DSLRs to the Arri and RED camera so of this world. Our lighting gear can sustain multiple high-quality productions in one go. When it comes to our teaching staff, that is where we have endeavoured to distinguish ourselves from other film school offerings in Nigeria. From choosing the Rector of the academy, Dr. Obi Emelonye, our distinguished UK filmmaker and scholar of Nigerian extraction, I have been intentional in my strategy to offer our students the very best available globally. Our teachers and facilitators are drawn from global practitioners from the UK, America and South Africa. And finally, our curriculum has been designed in conjunction with Goldsmiths, University of London, a UK institution of excellence which will ultimately accredit our certificates. Let me explain what this means. It means that local students can study at Wimpro International Film Academy and get UK accredited certificates. If they also want to further their education in the UK, Goldsmiths’ will also offer them credit fr the courses that they have done with Wimpro International Film Academy. No other Nigerian film school offers this unique opportunity and we take great pride in offering and maintaining UK standards in our teaching, staffing and facilities.

How is Wimpro adapting its curriculum to prepare students for the booming creative economy alongside   traditional Nollywood cinema?

The main focus of our training at Wimpro International Film Academy is on practical, hands-on or practice-led training.  We have responded to the new trends by introducing AI and Digital Filmmaking/Content Creation into our curriculum.  Our students are taught by experienced and practicing professionals in these emerging sectors of the media industry (global content creators and AI filmmakers), using state-of-the-art equipment to learn by ‘doing’ in real-world productions curated or simulated by Wimpro.

What standard of discipline and industry culture can students expect in Wimpro?

Our curriculum has been designed with active participation of Goldsmiths, University of London and the partnership, once formally executed, will ensure that Wimpro International Film Academy will operates at standards akin to the United Kingdom in terms of the course contents, teaching and assessment methods and teaching staff.

Training is one leg of fulfilling the dreams of your intakes. What partnerships have you established with major production houses to make their creative careers a reality? Will you be working with some in your films?

I personally believe that training without practice is wasted. Therefore, Wimpro International Film Academy will aim to attract and train the best creatives from within and further away from the Niger Delta region. More importantly, we will absorb high performers in various filmmaking fields into our Wimpro production outfit which has a full slate of projects. We will also exploit our relationships and contacts within the Nigeria and international entertainment sector to place students on internships and permanent employment with production houses and media organisations. I would say that part of what we teach students in independence and entrepreneurship and our hope is that our alumni will become self-employed creatives making their way successfully in the constantly evolving global media space.

What does success look like for WIMPRO’s very first graduating cohort? What kind of portfolio will they be leaving with?

Already, we have an overflowing waiting list. Such is the hunger for the kind of quality training that Wimpro International Film Academy stands for. My advice is for whoever is interested in obtaining UK standard practical film training in the heart of Port Harcourt to register their interest immediately. When our first cohorts leave after 3 months, they would have been exposed to practice-led training that’ll prepare them for the creative world in Nigeria and wherever in the world they find themselves. Success will be that they came, they learnt by doing and they are able to conquer the media world that awaits them. At the launch, so many of the guilds pledged partnerships with the academy especially in terms of making them members of the guilds. That is a huge advantage for our trainees.

Establishing a world-class film institution in Rivers State is a major milestone for the region. How do you see Wimpro affecting the local creative economy and the decentralisation of filmmaking talent away from the traditional hub of Lagos?

During my consultation stage for the setting up of Wimpro International Film Academy, some consultants were advising that the academy be set up in Lagos. I resisted that argument because my strategic focus was on creating international standard training for the local Niger Delta populace, particularly our youths and somehow offering something back to the part of the world that has fed the growth of my many business ventures. My hope is that the people of the Niger Delta will embrace this opportunity and elevate up their skillset to exceed what’s obtainable in Lagos and Abuja.

The financial barrier to entry for professional film schools has historically been very high. How is WIMPRO addressing accessibility and affordability for brilliant young storytellers who may lack funds?

Wimpro International Film academy wasn’t conceived principally as a profit-making organisation. However, we cannot offer all the courses for free, not at this stage, maybe later. Our social responsibility ethos is reflected in the pricing of our valuable programmes which mean that despite the quality of the programmes, our fees compare favourably with any film school in Nigeria.  Furthermore, I am personally offering full scholarships to a number of deserving students. And in partnership with Airtel, Wema Bank, NNDC and Niger delta state governments, Wimpro International Film Academy is able to offer students subsidised fees to make it affordable to the wider public no matter their social or economic status.

What accreditations are available for WIMPRO based on existing laws in Nigeria?

Wimpro has been accredited by the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) as a provider of vocation training in Nigeria. The partnership with a UK university is a value-added consideration to scale the academy’s impact and relevance.

What influenced the curriculum that was adopted for the training of the entrants? Who worked towards developing it?

Our curriculum was designed by our teaching staff led by our practitioner/academic Rector – Dr. Obi Emelonye, in conjunction with Prof Osy Okagbue of Goldsmiths, University of London. The aim is to ensure that its content and learning outcomes align my own technically-focused vision for the academy as well as the ethos of the University of London.