Royal Arts Academy is today one of the strongest and consistent film production outfits in Nigeria. With enviable team work of Emem Isong and other directors like Uche Jombo, Ini Edo, Desmond Elliot and Monalisa Chinda, the academy has been soaring, churning out blockbuster movies regularly.
But what millions of the academy’s fans scattered all over the world don’t know is how the fund used to establish the outfit was raised, and the circumstances behind it. Naij.com gathered from an impeccable source that the team of thespians led by Emem Isong actually got a loan of N30 million from an Abuja socialite to establish what is today known as Royal Arts Academy.
Emem Isong
“The only thing I’m not sure of is how the loan was returned, but I’m definitely aware that they took a loan to establish the academy. I honestly respect their business acumen because despite getting a loan, it is not easy to nurture business the way they have done in the movie industry. You must give them the credit,” the source told Naij.com correspondent.
He further hinted that the move to establish Royal Arts Academy was inevitable after the directors (Emem Isong, Desmond Elliot, Monalisa Chinda and Uche Jombo) were frozen out of the home video market by a cabal of Asaba film marketers.
“You know how the marketers operate; once you have issue with any of them, they will all gang up against you. And if they consider that your face is no longer selling their films as expected, they will simply dump you for another young person. That was what happened to Desmond Elliot and co. That is the modus operandi of the marketers,” our source added.
Our source further gathered that Royal Arts Academy’s decision of making cinema films instead of the conventional home videos can be strongly traced to their bitter experience in the hands of the men (eastern marketers) who call the shots at the other divide of Nollywood.
It is worthy of note that when Royal Arts Academy first started, it was Lancelot Imasuen who directed most of their films before Desmond Elliot, who understudied him, took over the mantle after embarking on more training on film directing.
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