Help Fund Young Filmmakers in Bamenda, Cameroon

Dear friends,

On the other side of the world from where I type this, from a city called Bamenda in the northwest part of Cameroon, something extraordinary is happening. Against the backdrop of civil war, dozens of young Cameroonians gather weekly without fail, to turn their stories into films.

This creative refuge is made possible by Randy Menkemdi an accomplished filmmaker, advocate and founder of Noble Arts Entertainment, a youth led film and stage production company based in Bamenda, Cameroon.

This fundraiser is to help Noble Arts invest in much needed film gear, to expand the scope of their filmmaking and deepen the impact of their film training program.

But first, a bit more background on Randy and Noble Arts:

Noble Arts’ unique model is part vocational arts school part mentorship program, with lessons in personal empowerment, conflict resolution and character building baked into the curriculum and creative process.

Since its founding Noble Arts has produced over 30 short and feature length films, 4 of which have earned nominations from regional and international film festivals including an official selection at the 2022 African International Film Festival.

The films’ subjects invariably tackle the region’s most difficult social issues of the day - like the stigma around female menstruation, the devastating impact of sexual violence and the persecution of people with albinism.

Over 700 young people have participated in the free, year-long program, with several going on to work in Bamenda’s budding film/content industry.

But the program’s greater mission is to use the arts as a tool for healing, personal growth, and ultimately, systemic change.

So a class on screenwriting becomes a lesson in finding your voice.

Embodying a character who faces trauma becomes a way to heal your own.

Performing in front of audiences nurtures confidence while lessons in improvisation teach the importance of teamwork.

As Randy tells his students, “Even if you don’t end up working in the film industry, my greater hope is that you end up a better person.”

I first met Randy a year and a half ago as part of an online mentoring program called Micromentor that matches volunteer professionals with young entrepreneurs. We’ve worked on marketing strategy, business modeling and more recently, procuring funding.

As we were compiling financial statements for a grant application, I discovered he is still having to rent most of the gear he uses to make his films and train his students.

As a result, money that could otherwise go back into the program, was being sunk into these repeated costly rental fees.

The single camera that he does own, is used for both shooting and teaching, and must be shared between as many as 30 students at a time.

I also learned that Randy has had to turn down paid film work simply because he was not able to access the equipment he needed to fulfill the job.

As a social enterprise, Randy is working towards a sustainable model that would use the earnings from paid film work as a source of funding for his program. The more paid gigs he can accept, the more funding he can funnel into his program.

All of this is complicated by an escalating and increasingly violent civil conflict of which Randy, his students and countless other innocent civilians are caught in the middle of.

Since 2016, over 6,000 people have been killed, 800,000 children are without access to education and an estimated 2 million Cameroonians in the NW & SW Anglophone regions have lost their livelihoods. Over a million people have been displaced from their homes and villages and those that remain live in constant fear of arbitrary detention, violence, theft, kidnapping and far worse.

It’s in this context that Randy’s work has become all the more vital and why this effort carries such urgency. Continuing his program each and every Sunday, without fail, is an act of defiance in the current climate. But the courage it takes to center the stories of the most marginalized and call out injustice no matter from which side, can’t be overstated.

Unfortunately, we’ve not yet had any success securing grant money. And that’s what has brought me here.

Randy will use the funds raised from this effort to help purchase a second camera, a field recorder and a drone device - all essential tools for modern filmmaking.

Having these tools at their disposal will have a transformative impact on Randy and his team’s ability to fulfill the mission of Noble Arts.

Specifically they will help to:

I am constantly in awe of Randy’s resilience, his optimism and his unwavering commitment to his students. Time and time again, he finds a way through barriers and setbacks most of us can’t imagine.

My hope is that with your help, we can remove one of those barriers, and give this young man and his students the investment they so deserve.

Thank you!