The opening Ceremony of the Abuja International Film Festival, AIFF, was another moment for movie lovers and people in the creative film making and entertainment industry.

The award ceremony, which kicked off at the Silverbird Cinemas, Abuja, on Tuesday had in attendance the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Lai Mohammed; a Senator, Ben Bruce; the Director of the Actors Guild, Fred Amata; Segun Arinze; notable Nollywood actors and actresses and a host of international delegates.

In his opening remark, Mr. Mohammed said his ministry will provide 180 people in the creative industry with capital each year to pursue their creative ideas.

“Our goal is to transform the creative industry into a creative economy; provide capacity building and bridge the gap between the creative industry and the private sector”, he added.

In his vote of thanks, Ben Bruce pledged his full support for the film festival and encouraged the organizers to keep up with the ceremony each year.

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, Fred Amata said that the film festival helps improve the quality of Nigerian movies as film makers, actors, and actresses are being awarded for their creative ideas.

Each year, AIFF honours filmmakers from around the world in 15 categories for their exemplary work in areas such as feature films, short films, animation, documentaries amongst others.

The theme of this year’s festival which holds between October 4 and 7 is “Connecting Global Audiences”.

The winners of the awards in different categories will be announced towards the end of the festival.