“We Are Neither Rewarding Aesthetics Over Substance Nor Replacing Filmmakers With AI” – CEISA

Founder of the Creative and Entertainment Industry Summit and Awards (CEISA), Mr Ikechukwu Agbaegbu, has said the awards are neither rewarding ‘aesthetics over substance’ nor the ‘replacing of filmmakers with Artificial Intelligence’, rather, it is promoting the use of AI in enhancing Nigerian films.

The clarity arises owing to CEISA’s partnership with the Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival (ENIFF), via its Imagine Filmmakers Award category, that will see the best of AI Film entries for the award this year screened at the 2026 summit, in addition to hosting a masterclass for filmmakers and creatives, as sideline event for the summit scheduled to take place in August.

Agbaegbu, however, reiterated that CEISA is not celebrating AI as a replacement for filmmakers, nor is it about celebrating visual aesthetics over authentic storytelling, but rather promoting “adaptation and upskilling” and “interrogating how African filmmakers can engage AI responsibly, creatively, and on their own terms”.

He noted that conventional filmmakers possess foundational skills in filmmaking, such as cinematography, narrative architecture, directing discipline, and cultural sensitivity, that AI cannot replicate. But with AI skills, they attain “hybrid competence – filmmakers who understand both the classical craft and the emerging tools.

“A visually impressive film is not automatically a good film. AI can assist with workflow efficiency, animation, research, editing, and visual experimentation. But emotional truth, cultural depth, and narrative structure still come from human insight.

“Our evaluation framework places storytelling authenticity, originality, cultural grounding, and ethical use of technology at the centre. We are encouraging filmmakers to integrate tools responsibly while maintaining narrative integrity.

Agbaegbu argued that by deploying AI tools, Nigerian filmmakers will no longer be mere consumers of information systems built elsewhere, but rather contributors to them, so that Africans can decide how their stories are told and their cultures are represented.

“If AI is being trained globally, then African stories, languages, ethics, and worldviews must be a part of the data conversation. Africa should not simply adapt to AI. We should contribute to defining how AI interprets our narratives, values, and creative identities.”

To ensure AI entries at the CEISA are above board, the platform advocates clear disclosure where AI tools are used, respect for the original creator’s content (AI must not become a shortcut for exploitation), protection of intellectual property (IP), and consent-based data usage.

Beyond the aforementioned awards, there is the summit, which convenes stakeholders like policymakers, creatives, private sector leaders, and technologists for structured dialogue. And then its policy-influencing arm, through which it engages stakeholders and monitors legislative developments.

Presently, it is trailing discussions about an AI regulatory bill at the National Assembly.

“Our goal is to ensure that emerging AI policies protect creative rights, prevent unauthorised content scraping, and safeguard Nigerian cultural assets. Innovation without ethics is dangerous. But innovation with ethics can be transformative,” said Agbaegbu.

To sustain its ambitious goal of influencing policies, he said the platform is deploying partnerships with other institutions, an advisory network of industry professionals – spanning lawyers specializing in intellectual property, media and tech contributors – to work; while also using its “annual summits to sustain dialogue, post-summit communiques and policy recommendations, engagement with legislators and regulatory agencies as well as media partnerships, to sustain momentum.

“CEISA was founded to close three structural gaps in Nigeria’s creative ecosystem: the policy gap, the funding gap, and the innovation gap. Policy reform is gradual. Momentum is not built in a single event, but rather through consistent engagement and strategic follow-up.

“We understand that legislative processes require patience, but if creatives are not at the table early, decisions will be made without their input,” he concluded.

Founded in 2025, the second edition of CEISA, themed ‘Universe, AI and the Creative Industry’, will be held in September 2026, in Abuja.