MultiChoice Talent Factory is marking eight years of investment in Nigeria’s creative sector with a new series of 13 regional masterclasses for film and television professionals.
The programme is being delivered in partnership with film festivals, industry guilds and other creative organizations across different parts of the country.
MultiChoice said the sessions were designed to provide practitioners with practical knowledge about current trends, emerging opportunities and the commercial realities of film and television production.
The first masterclass, held on August 24 in partnership with the Nigerian International Film Summit, focused on international sales and distribution.
Under the theme From Script to Market: The Future of Cinema in Africa, filmmakers, producers and other industry professionals examined the process of taking African content from production into wider domestic and international markets.
Speakers included Kene Mkparu of KOMWORLD Cinemas and Studio KOM, cinema industry specialist Funmi Onuma and Nigerian International Film Summit founder Ijeoma Onah.
Discussions covered international sales, distribution structures and the commercial decisions required to move films beyond their initial audiences.
MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy Director Akaoma Onyeonoru said strong storytelling alone was not enough if filmmakers did not understand how content reached viewers and generated revenue.
She argued that distribution was central to whether African stories could travel beyond local markets and whether African creators could retain greater control over their narratives.
A second session, the Africa Microdrama Summit, focused on the rise of short form scripted content and changing consumption habits.
The session examined the growing mobile first entertainment economy and the opportunities microdrama could create for African storytellers.
MultiChoice Nigeria content executive Atinuke Babatunde said shorter attention spans were influencing how audiences engaged with entertainment and increasing demand for stories that established momentum quickly.
She said the industry needed to understand those behavioral changes rather than assume audiences would continue consuming content in the same way.
Babatunde also suggested that commercially viable microdrama could eventually find a place on established platforms such as Africa Magic.
The regional masterclass series will continue in states including Ogun, Oyo, Imo, Abia, Delta and Rivers, as well as Abuja and Kano.
Partners include the Wole Soyinka Cultural Centre, Ibadan International Film Festival, Pan Atlantic University International Students’ Film Festival, Twin City International Film Festival, Rivers International Film Festival and Kano Indigenous Languages Film Festival.
MultiChoice said the programme formed part of a wider effort to strengthen technical, creative and business skills across Nigeria’s expanding entertainment economy.
