Distinguished creative and visionary colleagues, welcome to
2019. It is indeed a privilege to be President of DGN in a year very symbolic
to the guild.
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Fred Amata, President, Directors' Guild of Nigeria (DGN)
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2019 is the year of
the 20th anniversary of the Directors’ Guild of Nigeria (DGN). 20 years ago,
after six angry men sat to envision a path to excellence. A responsibility to
celebrate this excellence rests on the shoulders of this administration, yet this
excellence is attainable only in true observation of our motto “ Together we
can “. It is together that we can reach out and claim the natural right as the
“Undemocratizable” head of the creative art of realization.
This Administration
has striven to set the Guild on its course of greatness, making entrenching the
structural Pillars of the Guild its priorities. These Pillars are the
Administrative Structure, the Physical Structure and the Legal Structure.
We had targeted the
completion of the Legal structure by delivering the Constitution by October
2018: This following a mandate of the house at the AGM of April 2018 with a six
month projection. This Projection has been slowed down by unforeseen
hindrances, paucity of funds and a vigorous effort to ensure a befitting
Secretariat. DGN is proud to announce that a state of art Secretariat is ready
for the Guild; the secretariat will be officially launched in the New Year.
Notwithstanding however, the Constitution is Supreme and a major legacy of this
administration. This unfortunate lull will be a priority in the first quarter
of 2019.
The task of
administering a Guild in the rapidly evolving film terrain is enormous, new
practices are springing up and in the business environment new decisions that
directly impact on our practice are being reached without recourse to Guilds
and Associations, the need for unity within the Guild and between the Guilds
and Associations has never been more present. The need for continuous training
and retraining has since been identified, though efforts in the past (like the
several attempts at the Creative Summit and the BBC training collaboration)
have not seen success. New approaches are being modeled and we are confident of
a DGN training come 2nd quarter of 2019.
Health issues
threaten the guild, yet members fail to appreciate the need for healthcare, nor
have we appreciated the need to pay our dues. Distinguished members of the
guild afflicted with various crucial ailments still battle to find recourse.
Yet despite our numerous challenges posterity dictates that we must commemorate
an event of this magnitude.
A full itinerary of
plans for our 20th Anniversary will be elaborated to include details of plans
for the Administrative Pillars honoring Fellows and Patrons of the Guild.
It is worthy to
note that this Administration has excelled despite curious antagonism to
continually represent the prestige and integrity of a gathering worthy of
distinguished creative minds.
The DGN OGUN
NOLLYWOOD fiesta has been an event like never before and one that will decorate
the corridors of memory of our cherished past.
Slowly yet surely
inspired mostly by the Benin, Asaba and Port Harcourt zones, life is bustling
into these areas and the zonal system is beginning to thrive again. However,
Zones like the Enugu and Lagos Zones have displayed commitment for a better run
in 2019. The Abuja Zone likewise has expressed this commitment, and we
anticipate more activity in 2019. Zonal Heads must make it a Priority to honour
their terms of reference.
The NollyINSURED
initiative has been hailed by all and sundry and has even received accolades as
the model of choice for the industry. Recall that the NollyInsured initiative
brings together all Nollywood Guilds and Associations; an ingenious way using
common interest to foster unity. The scheme is operational and members are
urged for their own benefit to make registration for the scheme a priority.
In the year of our
20th Anniversary, DGN is going to be very active than ever before with members
“Harnessing the collective power of our individual strengths”. Several work
units will be set up to expedite action on urgent key plans. Nevertheless EXCO
will be counting on members.
In the area of
direct responsibility and execution of laid down practices like yearly
admissions into the Guild, this administration has made painstaking efforts to
ensure quality members into the Guild. The Membership and Screening Committee
is chaired by no other but the founding President of DGN, Mr. Mathias Obaihiagbon.
Evidence of the quality of new intakes is seen in the example of members like
Judith Audu who only recently has been winning awards in directing at the
Inshort Film Festival. Others like Ossy Livingstone and Victor Aghahowa are
receiving accolades in international gatherings and setting up businesses
employing other directors respectively.
As President, I
seize the opportunity of renewal, which is the spirit of the season to appeal
to all members. DGN is our collective pride and distinguished Guild. It belongs
to us and not to one administration. I urge you all to put aside grievances and
biases, to see EXCO as the servant of our larger interests and engage more with
EXCO, and the President through proper channels.
Stronger are the
creative passions that bind us than the political passions that divide us. For
this we must stay the course towards DGN THE FUTURE. DGN is a Guild not a
Political Party.
In the Spirit also
of the New Year, a Presidential pardon will be given to all members removed
from the DGN Interact WhatsApp platform with a caveat that they pay their dues.
It is therefore on
a note of inspiration that I welcome you to 2019.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
DGN ARTISTAE
EXCELLENTUS
#Togetherwecan.
