NFVCB bans films celebrating villains

Adedayo said that films with stories that ennoble characters deserving of punishment will not be approved.

National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has announced a ban on movies with stories that glamourize villains.

The board's CEO Adedayo Thomas confirmed the latest rule in a statement presented on Monday September 6, 2021, at a five-day capacity building workshop on censorship and classification for selected University of Calabar students.

”Nigerian films and movies should not depict reality but also give out moral lessons at the end. Our films should identify a societal problem, go into action and at the end of the day, show what happens to perpetrators of evil in the film,” Thomas said.

“But when you produce a particular film and you glamourise or celebrate someone who has done terrible things against the culture or humanity without punishment, we don’t approve such films.”

During the workshop, Thomas disclosed that in line with the Buhari-led administration's move to monitor hate speech online, the board is also looking into movie content released on platforms like YouTube and Google. The board will also monitor script development.

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The NFVCB boss also announced a note of warning to filmmakers who bypass the board to still release films with unapproved content.

“Even though we are aware that some defaulters still produce movies without passing through NFVCB, we want to make students understand the activities of the board so that it becomes part of them.”

According to Thomas, the government seeks to ensure that filmmakers are making morally upright films with the goal of protecting Nigerian children from societal ills.