A veteran Nollywood actor, Francis Duru, has urged the theatre art students of Kaduna State University (KASU) to take characterisation in acting seriously.
The veteran made the call on Wednesday, during the 9th Kaduna International Film Festival held at KASU, with the theme “Cultural Renaissance” .
Duru said the essence of every acting was characterisation and that every actor needs to understand its importance to grow in the industry.
“If you don’t master it, you won’t do well. But worse, some people still succeed by mistake, they get roles or prosper even though they are doing things wrong.
“The danger of that is you won’t notice your mistakes, so you won’t improve” he said.
He added that an actor had to be intentional, learn properly, and not just rely on luck or error to move forward.
Duru urged the young actors, especially aspiring actors to be intentional, patient, and be ready for the struggle before starting.
Similarly, the Director General of the Kaduna International Film Festival, Israel Audu, said the festival celebrated art, culture, creativity and film while bringing back and celebrating Kaduna’s rich and diverse cultures.
“The Kaduna International Film Festival gives filmmakers a space to show their films, meet the right people, and turn their talent into real distribution deals”, he said.
The DG said this year’s festival was hosted in the state’s university to help theatre art students connect classroom learning with real film industry experience.
“Students know theory but struggle in the field. So this year, professionals like Francis Duru are brought in to teach practical skills and help students transition from school to real acting sets,” he said.
Audu urged aspiring actors and filmmakers to go beyond the classroom, get real experience, network, and use social media to showcase their work globally.
He said this year’s edition brought the Film Festival to an academic environment, adding that it was the first film festival in Northern Nigeria.
He said it started in 2018 to bridge the gap and create opportunities for creatives in the region, and was looking forward to the 10th anniversary of the film festival in Kaduna.
