The Jos Community Film Festival (JOCOFFEST) on Friday says 500 restive youths on the Plateau are being targeted for restoration and empowerment as part of catching them Young programme.

Prof Edward Ossai, JOCOFEST Founder and Festival Director, made the disclosure while speaking with newsmen in Jos on Friday.

Ossai, a lecturer at the Department of Theatre Arts, Plateau State University (PLASU), Bokkos, expressed worry and concern over the involvement of some youths in drugs, criminality and political thuggery that destroy their future and lives.

This is why JOCOFEST main objective is to locate, restore and empower the restive youths in order to seeing them becoming useful to the society.The, festival, he added is in collaboration with Society of Nigerian Artists, Plateau State Branch, Dachung Musa Bagos Foundation, PLASMIDA, JOS Business School, Nigerian Film Corporation, Plateau State Tourism Corporation, R-Rock Hotels and lots more.

“This year, our focus is on Tudun Wada youths, whom we shall train in the area of filmmaking and entrepreneurship, as we talk them out of substance abuse, and encourage them to say NO to political thuggery.

“The training is targeted at secondary school students, youth groups, and the unemployed within the community, bedevilled with crimes and criminality,” he said.

The festival director said that the 3-Day festival is scheduled to hold between Nov. 6 and Nov. 8 at Franzy Hotel and Suites, opposit Police Officers Mess, Tudun Wada, Jos, Plateau.

Ossai, who gave the theme of the JOCOFFEST 2024 as “Interrogating the Now and Predicting the Future,” said that the stage was being set once again for a successful hosting of the festival’s second edition.

According to him, this year’s festival is diving into film’s power to reflect contemporary issues and shape visions of tomorrow among the youths.”We are assuring the public that this edition is very promising with an unparalleled experience of creativity, insight, and inspiration, ” he said.

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Jos Film Festival Targets 500 Restive Youths for Restoration, Empowerment in Plateau