WeOwnTV: Idriss Kpange Filmmaker Fellowship

We are thrilled to announce that a selection of this years WeOwnTV filmmaker fellows have been invited to participate in IDFAcademy 

Four fellows and two mentor mentors will travel to attend the festival as an official West African Delegation to the 2018 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in November. The team will attend the 4 day IDFAcademy program and then stay to continue meetings and experience the festival.

“The experience provided by IDFAcademy is an incredible opportunity for our fellows. The balance of training with networking opportunities is also perfectly timed. All of the fellows will all be mid-production on their projects.” said Arthur, WeOwnTV fellowship mentor and founder of the Freetown Media Centre.

We are so proud of how our fellowship has continued to grow each year since it's launch and we can't thank you all enough for your support of this program. You are really helping life changing opportunities for these talented and deserving filmmakers.  I hope you will consider continuing to support his program with a donation today.

With Gratitude,

Banker White

Here is a list of the four fellows who have been invited to attend and a description of their projects:

Traveling from Accra, Ghana will be Lawrence, the director of We Are The Problem.

The film is a character driven documentary combining strong storytelling with stunning imagery from the intimate perspective of Sam a 32-year-old man who wears suit and tie to sell roasted plantain in the streets of Accra. The film follows his dream to change the narrative and how he leaves home dressed up in a suit and tie leaving this family (children) clueless about his work. Ultimately we want to tell an inspirational and powerful African story of being open to ourselves and the society. It is also to start a revolution of start-up business within the youth of Ghana and Africa that will change the face of the continent. This story will project the character as a pillar of hope to a new generation in a new Africa.

There are also two invited filmmakers from Sierra Leone who were a part of our inaugural 2016/2017 class. 

Life After the Army which is directed by John, focuses on the daily activities and stories of ex-servicemen who left the army through the Voluntary Retirement Program. The stories they tell echo the sentiment of thousands of their comrades who are scattered across Sierra Leone having gone through the same retirement program.

 An’Bondo Beykey, which means “Stop Female Genital Mutilation,”directed by Tyson, takes a very personal look at a heated social issue in Sierra Leone. Fatmata, a close friend of the filmmaker and a member of his media collective, the Future View Film Group, died after going through an initiation ceremony. The Bondo society is a popular all-female society in West Africa. Though efforts have been made to modernize the ritual and stop Female Genital Mutilation, many societies still require this practice for initiation into the group and to adulthood

WeOwnTV would like to extend a special thank you to the Bertha Foundation who is supporting this aspect of our fellowship.