Graduates of EbonyLife Creative Academy (ELCA) on Saturday commended the Lagos State Government for full sponsorship of their training at the academy.
They gave the accolades in interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at their graduation ceremony held at EbonyLife Place, Victoria Island, Lagos.
NAN reports that the Lagos State Government through its ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, partnered with ELCA to train interested citizens in film making and other skills in the creative industry.
The first batch of the beneficiaries of the sponsorship – about 120 students – went through a 12-week intensive training in six departments in the industry.
The Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Adenike Adedoyin-Ajayi, told NAN that the sponsorship was part of the state government’s support for the creative industry.
She said that the gesture was also aimed at creating jobs opportunities.
The beneficiaries thanked Lagos State Government for giving them the free training.
One of them, Beatrice Udeh, who also won the Best Female Actor Award at the training praised the government for the opportunity.
Udeh won the award for a leading role in a film produced by her class and entitled “Monitoring Spirits”.
“I am elated to be part of this training which ordinarily would have cost me a lot of money.
“I thank Lagos State Government for this wonderful opportunity; it is so unique.
“I thank God for being among the students who stood out.
“When I was given the script, I felt so connected to it and was determined to give my all.J
Joel Cicero described the training as the gateway to the pursuit of his career as an actor.
“Right from time, I have the understanding that talent is not enough. A raw product needs to be refined through training; so, when I learnt about this opportunity, I gave it my all.
“I am thankful to Lagos State Government for giving me this platform to express myself as an actor. This is an amazing opportunity.
“I hope to make meaningful contributions to the entertainment industry and the state,” he said.
Jalalat Adesina, who graduated from Cinematography and Lightning Department told NAN that courses at the ECLA had improved her understanding of some technicalities in the industry.
“The training I had at the ECLA is second to none, the lecturers are the best and I am proud to be one of the alumnus of this great institute.
“The Chief Executive Officer of this place, Mo Abdu, is one of my favourite personalities that I have been looking forward to seeing, and I am happy that the opportunity came on the platter of gold.
“I also praise our instructors in making sure that we achieved what we came here to do; the trainings have opened my eyes to the many opportunities in the entertainment industry.
“I am grateful to the Lagos State Government for this amazing opportunity which would have ordinarily cost millions of naira,” she said.
A graduate of Production for Success, Omasirichi Ndamati, commended the facilitators of the training, saying that she had been exposed to some of the best instructors.
“The trainings were fantastic, we did a lot of works within the period allotted to us, which have enhanced our knowledge. I can say without mincing words that we had the best training so far.
“I am so happy to be a beneficiary of this unique opportunity made possible by the Lagos State Government,” she said.
Beatrice Udeh from the Department of Acting for Screen told NAN that the training had given her an edge over others in the entertainment industry.
“I know that many people are looking for opportunities to be trained by world-class instructors,” she said.
NAN reports that the beneficiaries were given trainings in six departments.
The department are Audio Essentials for Film and Television, Visuals Post Production, Art Direction for Film and Television, Art of Screenwriting; Cinematography and Lighting; Acting for Screen; Directors Toolkit and Production for Success.
The graduates produced six film namely during the training.
The firms are Monitoring Spirits, Dilemma, Reflections, Ifeloju, Fury and The Next Best Thing.