Wimpro International Film Academy, a new premier film and digital media training institution based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, will be formally launched on Monday 27th July 2026 at its campus on Road 2, Rumueme, Port Harcourt. The Honourable Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa, will attend as Special Guest of Honour, with award-winning filmmaker Obi Emelonye, PhD, serving as Rector of the academy.
Founded by Wisdom Isaac as CEO and led by Director Toka Mcbaror, Wimpro International Film Academy was established to bridge a gap that has existed for too long in Nigerian film education, the space between inaccessible expensive international schools and unstructured informal apprenticeships. The academy describes its mission as delivering practical, project-based training that equips students with the technical skills, creative confidence, and industry exposure required to succeed in the film and digital media space, with a broader vision of becoming Africa’s premier industry-led film and creative media institution.
The academy’s training philosophy is built firmly on a 70 percent hands-on approach. Students participate in live film shoots and actual media campaigns from the beginning of their training, receive direct mentorship from seasoned filmmakers and industry professionals, and graduate with a strong portfolio of completed work. A structured three-month industry internship follows the intensive training programme, giving every graduate a concrete entry point into the professional industry before they leave the academy’s ecosystem.
Wimpro International Film Academy offers eight degree programmes: Cinematography covering Camera, Lighting and Sound; Directing; Film and Video Editing; Scriptwriting; Screen Acting and TV Presentation; Production Design and Management; Digital Film-Making; and Content Creation. The campus itself houses a main soundstage, professional edit suites, a full camera set and equipment locker, and dedicated practical field training facilities, giving students access to the kind of infrastructure that was previously unavailable to aspiring filmmakers in Port Harcourt without travelling to Lagos or outside Nigeria.
One of the most significant features of the academy is that its courses are set to be accredited by a United Kingdom university, a development that would give graduates internationally recognised qualifications in film and creative media, and make Wimpro the first institution of its kind in Rivers State to offer that level of certification. The academy is already operational ahead of the official launch, having hosted a casting call in June 2026 for its Wimpro Court Series production, which gave students and actors in Port Harcourt their first taste of what working within the academy’s production environment looks like.
Obi Emelonye, who serves as Rector, is one of Nigeria’s most internationally recognised filmmakers, known for directing award-winning productions including Last Flight to Abuja, The Mirror Boy, and Onye Ozi. He is a member of the UK Directors Guild and the British Film Institute, and in 2022 received the British Urban Film Festival honorary award for over 20 years of outstanding contribution to cinema. In 2020, he became the first film director in the world to make a feature film entirely via Zoom, producing Heart 2 Heart remotely with cast members in London and Lagos. His most recent work includes the Igbo-language drama that served as the official closing film at AFRIFF 2025. His appointment as Rector brings immediate international credibility and industry weight to the academy’s profile.
The presence of Minister Musawa at the launch is particularly significant. Under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda, the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy has set two headline goals: a ₦100 billion contribution to GDP and two million jobs for young Nigerians by 2030. A film academy offering UK-accredited courses in Port Harcourt, one of Nigeria’s most creatively active cities, sits directly within that vision of expanding the country’s creative economy infrastructure beyond Lagos.
Port Harcourt has for years produced some of Nigeria’s most compelling filmmakers, writers, and visual storytellers, but the city has lacked the kind of structured, internationally accredited film training institution that could formalise that creative energy into professional careers. Wimpro International Film Academy is positioned to change that.
Admissions for the next session are currently open. The grand launch holds on Monday 27th July 2026 at Wimpro International Film Academy, Road 2, Rumueme, Port Harcourt. For more information visit wimproacademy.com, email info@wimproacademy.com, or call +234 800 WIMPRO.
