NFVCB to begin film, skit classification

The National Films and Videos Censors Board (NFVCB) has announced plans to begin the regime of classification of movies.

Movie classification means to give age ratings and content advice to films and other audiovisual content to help children and families choose what’s right for them and avoid what’s not.

Speaking at a stakeholders meeting held at its zonal office in Ikoyi, Lagos on Friday, Shaibu Husseini, the board’s executive director, emphasised the need for content classification in Nigeria.

He said he had begun a cross-section of engagement with the industry stakeholders to inform them about his plans; one of which is to build a “world-class classification centre”.

“When I checked all around the world, I discovered that they have moved from censorship to classification,” he said.

“Even in Britain, it is the British Board of Classification. In Kenya, it is a classification board, the same thing in South Africa. This is why I believe that there is a need for us to move from the regime of censorship to classification. So, I sat with my management and we agreed that it was time for us to move from censorship to classification.

“Classification is when we watch your content and give it the rating that it deserves. That rating will be displayed on the content so that when the audience is watching, they will know which content to choose from, instead of just watching general content and finding something more like violence or nudity in the middle of the film.

“When classification is done properly, you will have a rating on all content. In our new regime of classification, we are going to classify skits, short video content, and films. We must make those clarifications now because the board was set up by law to classify any video content produced in Nigeria or imported into the country for exhibition.”

Husseini said the board would become digitised so filmmakers could go online to register their works rather than the old way.

“We should no longer be doing analogue at a time when we should be talking about digital, and we have agreed to digitalise the process,” he said.

“I found out that one of the reasons people are bypassing the board and releasing films without classification is because of the tedious process of getting your films on DVD.

“It is time-consuming and the process is cumbersome. Therefore, we are committed to providing a service that will be convenient for the filmmakers.

“They can stay in the comfort of their homes wherever they are, upload their films, pay online, see how the film is being processed, and then print their certificates online.”