By Ngozi Nwoke
The first 120 students for 2022 have completed 11 weeks of classes at the EbonyLife Creative Academy and graduated in a joyful ceremony recently.
They were able to undertake their courses free of charge, courtesy of the Lagos State government, through Lagos State Creative Industries Initiative (LACI), under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
Since the beginning of the course, the students were engaged in learning more about screenwriting, production, directing, acting, cinematography/lighting, director’s toolkit, art direction, sound and post-production.
Towards the end of their study, groups of students from different disciplines merged into three teams to produce a short film each for exhibition. These four films, Ogun, Magic Pen, Clippers and Stupid Finder, were shown during the graduation and showed just how proficient the graduates had become. Each film was applauded enthusiastically by the students and their VIP guests, as their impressive filmmaking skills were exhibited.
Several prizes were awarded to the best-performing students in the following categories: scripting, production, acting, cinematography, editing, sound, mixing, music, original song and directing.
Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, said: “This first batch of young filmmakers has proven that the EbonyLife Creative Academy is providing valuable skills that can only enhance Nigerian filmmaking. If the short films we have seen today are any indication, the creative economy will continue to grow as production values improve.”
Mo Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife Media, said: “I am happy to see the graduates making the most of the opportunities provided by Lagos State’s funding of this academy. These young filmmakers have grown tremendously in such a short time. I can only imagine the amazing stories they will be telling in future films.”
Head of school, Mr. Theart Korsten, spoke about his young charges.
“This group is just as talented and determined as our first cohort. The last three months marks the beginning of a process of lifelong learning, and I hope that they will continue to sharpen their skills and keep up to date with the latest filmmaking techniques and technology. They were very passionate, career-driven, focused and committed.
“The students were trained in screenwriting, narrating course, cinematography, film producing, directing, acting class, post-production audio class, post-production sound class. These are the eight courses that we have at the school that would enable them to produce their own films,” he said.
One of the grandauds from the screenwriting department, Ms. Victoria Nwaeze, disclosed that her class produced four films during their training.
“The expectation is that we will be able to work on our own to produce more movies because the creative industry needs people like us who can bring new contents rather than recycling old ones. And I am very sure that we are going to make the academy and Nigeria proud.
“I am highly grateful to the Lagos State government and EbonyLife Creative Academy for the life-changing opportunity to learn, explore and become a professional filmmaker. This means a lot to me,” she said.
Another graduand from the cinematography and lighting department, Mr. Oyiade Afe, stated that: “The experience is amazing. I came into the EbonyLife Creative Academy with little experience in filmmaking techniques. But today I am graduating as a professional filmmaker, courtesy of the Lagos State government and EbonyLife Creative Academy. This was all for free.
“I promise never to disappoin the organisers. I will begin to utilise my newly acquired skills and also impact on others who are interested. I have a lot of projects to start working on and I look forward to working together with veteran filmmakers in the industry.”