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Cultivating Cameroon’s Story Tellers of Tomorrow
Since the dawn of time a common reverence has been given to storytellers. As we sat around the fire, we loved, we cried, we laughed and with every breath uttered we gained flashes into different life far outside of our experiences. Film and television has taken the magic story and has immersed us in the past, shown our dreams for the future and has taken us anywhere our imagination would dare to venture.
Through media our world has gone from being a vast expanse of the unknown to a small diverse tapestry of sights, sounds, and color. Every corner of our world has contributed to the ongoing saga of our shared humanity. This project is about giving a voice and face to a part of that global tapestry.
Victor is an award winning film-maker who has a vision to bring the art of modern film and post production story-telling to his homeland. He along with the Cameroon Ministry of Arts and Culture are setting up a program to teach locals the art of film production and post production. Victor is adamant that Cameroon has a unique contribution to give the world. A contribution rich in individuality but also relevant to the shared library of mankind. We are asking for financial assistance, donations of equipment, and expertise. Share the link today and follow us on a journey to Cameroon!
James G. Kitazaki
VICTOR VIYUOH BIOGRAPHY:
Named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Independent Filmmakers to watch, Victor Viyuoh wrote and directed the short MBOUTOUKOU which was filmed entirely on location in Cameroon, Africa. In one year, Mboutoukou played at over 100 film festivals
including Venice, New Directors/New Films and Rotterdam. Beginning with its nomination for the 2002 Student Academy Awards, Mboutoukou won over 20 awards including Best Short at SXSW, Best Short at Urbanworld, and the Rights of the Child Award at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival.
His debut feature NINAH’S DOWRY was a recipient of the Global Film Initiative’s production grant. It premiered at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival where it won the Best Film as well as the Best Actress in a Foreign Film awards. It has won over 30 awards, including: Best Actor, Best Actress and Best film awards at the 2013 Festival International du Film PanAfricain de Cannes; Best Actress, Best Cameroonian Film, and festival Jury Prize at Ecrans Noirs; the Audience award at the Big Muddy International
Film Festival; and the World Audience Award at the Phoenix Film Festival. Ninah’s Dowry has screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, FESPACO and the Festival de Cannes.
His autobiographical documentary, The Photograph, is a recipient of Hot Docs Blue Ice Development and Production grants. Victor is a graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles.
FILMMAKING FUNDAMENTALS – 1 WEEK INTENSIVE WORKSHOP FENAC 2016
GOAL: Hollywood professionals teach the fundamentals of filmmaking and answer questions from aspiring Cameroonian filmmakers.
FACULTY: 3 filmmakers - two US professionals and I, Victor Viyuoh.
CORE: From idea to Distribution, we will cover the whole process and emphasize practice.
SPONSOR: The Ministry of Arts and Culture would sponsor part of the program but we need donations.
IMPACT: This would be the first step in a hands-on training program that emphasizes practical application. We want our filmmakers to be knowledgeable in the basics of filmmaking and be able to communicate with filmmakers from all over the world. The language and skills they learn here will help them improve the quality of the films they make as well as make them more appealing as technicians on foreign productions. Yet, initial emphasis will be on storytelling. Without a good story all else is misplaced energy. The goal is to train at least 25 filmmakers some of whom will get a chance to immediately apply their skills to shorts and possibly features which they will then submit to Ecrans Noirs and other festivals. They will pass on their acquired skills to members of their crew as they shoot.
Some of them and even those who didn’t attend this workshop might then be interested in the next phase of the training, which is a full fledge film school. Graduates of this workshop and future training programs would form the foundation on which our industry is built.
Since the dawn of time a common reverence has been given to storytellers. As we sat around the fire, we loved, we cried, we laughed and with every breath uttered we gained flashes into different life far outside of our experiences. Film and television has taken the magic story and has immersed us in the past, shown our dreams for the future and has taken us anywhere our imagination would dare to venture.
Through media our world has gone from being a vast expanse of the unknown to a small diverse tapestry of sights, sounds, and color. Every corner of our world has contributed to the ongoing saga of our shared humanity. This project is about giving a voice and face to a part of that global tapestry.
Victor is an award winning film-maker who has a vision to bring the art of modern film and post production story-telling to his homeland. He along with the Cameroon Ministry of Arts and Culture are setting up a program to teach locals the art of film production and post production. Victor is adamant that Cameroon has a unique contribution to give the world. A contribution rich in individuality but also relevant to the shared library of mankind. We are asking for financial assistance, donations of equipment, and expertise. Share the link today and follow us on a journey to Cameroon!
James G. Kitazaki
VICTOR VIYUOH BIOGRAPHY:
Named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Independent Filmmakers to watch, Victor Viyuoh wrote and directed the short MBOUTOUKOU which was filmed entirely on location in Cameroon, Africa. In one year, Mboutoukou played at over 100 film festivals
including Venice, New Directors/New Films and Rotterdam. Beginning with its nomination for the 2002 Student Academy Awards, Mboutoukou won over 20 awards including Best Short at SXSW, Best Short at Urbanworld, and the Rights of the Child Award at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival.
His debut feature NINAH’S DOWRY was a recipient of the Global Film Initiative’s production grant. It premiered at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival where it won the Best Film as well as the Best Actress in a Foreign Film awards. It has won over 30 awards, including: Best Actor, Best Actress and Best film awards at the 2013 Festival International du Film PanAfricain de Cannes; Best Actress, Best Cameroonian Film, and festival Jury Prize at Ecrans Noirs; the Audience award at the Big Muddy International
Film Festival; and the World Audience Award at the Phoenix Film Festival. Ninah’s Dowry has screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, FESPACO and the Festival de Cannes.
His autobiographical documentary, The Photograph, is a recipient of Hot Docs Blue Ice Development and Production grants. Victor is a graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles.
FILMMAKING FUNDAMENTALS – 1 WEEK INTENSIVE WORKSHOP FENAC 2016
GOAL: Hollywood professionals teach the fundamentals of filmmaking and answer questions from aspiring Cameroonian filmmakers.
FACULTY: 3 filmmakers - two US professionals and I, Victor Viyuoh.
CORE: From idea to Distribution, we will cover the whole process and emphasize practice.
SPONSOR: The Ministry of Arts and Culture would sponsor part of the program but we need donations.
IMPACT: This would be the first step in a hands-on training program that emphasizes practical application. We want our filmmakers to be knowledgeable in the basics of filmmaking and be able to communicate with filmmakers from all over the world. The language and skills they learn here will help them improve the quality of the films they make as well as make them more appealing as technicians on foreign productions. Yet, initial emphasis will be on storytelling. Without a good story all else is misplaced energy. The goal is to train at least 25 filmmakers some of whom will get a chance to immediately apply their skills to shorts and possibly features which they will then submit to Ecrans Noirs and other festivals. They will pass on their acquired skills to members of their crew as they shoot.
Some of them and even those who didn’t attend this workshop might then be interested in the next phase of the training, which is a full fledge film school. Graduates of this workshop and future training programs would form the foundation on which our industry is built.