African Girls Make Movies Too

From the African Women in Cinema Vlog

"I plan to be a professional camera woman, I will go back to my community and teach my colleagues how to make movies" says Aishah Umuhoza, a young Rwandan participant in the One Minute Jr. workshop. The initiative is part of “The World Cup in my Village” project sponsored by UNICEF in collaboration with community and governmental partners in Zambia and Rwanda.

The film project in the Rubavu District of Rwanda entails a five-day intensive workshop during which the students learn to write a script, direct, shoot, and edit a one-minute film, as well as act in the production. The main objective is to provide the students with the skills to report on the important issues that they are dealing with in their communities and then share them with the international community.

Similarly, in Mongu, Zambia, the radio production project gives the young participants the opportunity to express their concerns. The audio reports are broadcast on local, national and international radio stations. In addition, video reports of the initiative are posted on various websites, notably, the Children’s Radio Foundation, who is a partner in the initiative.

As South Africa is host of the 2010 World Cup, “The World Cup in my Village” serves another important function as it provides a venue for young people who live in villages without electricity and broadcasting services to follow the tournament. Giant inflatable out-door screens and projectors are set in place for the occasion. To promote awareness building, UNICEF-produced public service announcements regarding education, health and children protection are part of the programming.

As evident in the encouraging words of Aishah Umuhoza above, several girls have enthusiastically embraced the media-training project. A selection of the one-minute films produced during the film workshop is posted on the "unicefworldcup’s channel" on YouTube, among which are works by Dancille Nyiranteziryayo: A Better Future and Mamy Manirakiza: Raising Awareness.

View the One Minute Jr films @ the unicefworldcup’s channel

LINKS:

Rwandan student films premier during FIFA World Cup 2010

GISENYI, Rwanda, 23 June 2010 – Aspiring filmmakers in a remote village in Rwanda now have an exciting opportunity to share their vision of the world.

As FIFA World Cup 2010 kicks off, Zambian youth journalists speak out

MONGU, Zambia, 11 June 2010 – For Inonge Sitali, 14, a radio dialogue with peers about the FIFA World Cup 2010 – which kicked off today in South Africa – is more than a casual conversation. It is an opportunity to discuss important gender issues in her local community of Mongu, in western Zambia.