The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion as part of its follow-up in its youth engagement has commenced the training of 65 youths on film production to enable them to discover their talents, take over the film industry and become self-reliant.

The Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, His Grace, The Most Rev’d Dr. Henry Ndukuba said this when he paid an unscheduled visit to the trainees at the High Definition Film Academy in Gwarinpa, Abuja on Monday 31st October, 2022.

The primate who was happy with the organisation and training environment said he was there to monitor, evaluate and bless the trainees before their graduation on Thursday 3rd November 2022.

Archbishop Ndukuba said that the church believed in empowering the youths to accelerate economic prosperity and minimize restiveness.

He said the church intended to invest on the youths through economic and social empowerment by offering skills training mostly to indigent families, to give them a future and take them away from social vices.

The primate explained that the trainees were selected based on their passion and interests.

He advised them to be focused and determined for a breakthrough, saying, “they were already keying and tapping into wealth and the mountain of influence”.

“Discover yourself and the talent the Lord has kept for you and use it to glorify him and the society.

“What you have taken time to train in, God will help you achieve greater heights in them,” he added.

The primate told the youths that the road to success wasn’t easy, but very rewarding if they remained committed.

He added that the Joshua generation’s mission was to mobilise young people for a better future, urging them not to disappoint their families and the church.

In his speech, Mr Ndubueze Ugazi, Chairman of Joshua Generation Movie Team of the Anglican Communion, said the 65 students were trained in different categories of film production.

He said they were also trained in acting, cinematography and scriptwriting.

Ugazi said they were expected at the end of the training to launch into the works of filmmaking and takeover the industry for God.

“The essence of this vision by the Primate is to have Christians who will not shy away from the entertainment industry because of the storms and challenges in it,” he added.

He said the trainees would come out with the required technical, profession, and spiritual knowledge to launch into the world of filmmaking and be preaching Christ through films.

The Chief Executive Officer, High Definition Film Academy, Mr Bright Obasi urged the youth to tap the opportunities of the film industry.

“This is the right time to key into film making in Nigeria.

“You have big streamlines platforms coming and others already in Nigeria such as Netflix, Amazon and HPO; when you talk of profitability of film, this is the best time,” he added.