Photograph — Mediastorm

Training aspiring African filmmakers is an integral part of the annual African International Film Festival (AFRIFF). For AFRIFF’s sixth edition, which begins on Sunday, November 13, Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) is showing support for the festival’s vision by partnering with its developmental initiative for young African filmmakers.

As part of the week-long event spread across the Filmhouse IMAX, Genesis Deluxe Cinema, Silverbird Cinema (Victoria Island, Lagos), and AfriNolly Space, (Oregun, Lagos), CCNA is offering further support skills and capacity development among creative and talented youth and professionals in Nigeria on film and photography.

“We aim to familiarise Nigerian filmmakers and photographers, and the attendees to the festival with cutting-edge professional technology that is used internationally,” said Katie Simmonds, Canon’s Strategic Operations Professional – Emerging Markets Africa/Sustainability Projects.

“Our partnership with AFRIFF, Nigeria, underlines our focus on supporting the nation in building the next generation of talent who will drive the growth of the country’s television, film and photography sectors. It will empower youth, build their skills, and help facilitate rewarding careers in the industry.”

Presently, the cinematography class has about 50 would-be registered trainees, including film students and practitioners. According to Simmonds, Canon is always committed to launching new innovative programmes that help provide the knowledge and skills needed to promote creative talent and drive the growth of a vibrant local industry. And the Canon sessions will provide the perfect opportunity for aspiring filmmakers to benefit from short courses and seminars in videography and filmmaking.

The collaboration marks an extension of Canon’s sustainability for its Miraisha programme which Simmonds explains is a combination of the Japanese word ‘Mirai’ (“Future”), and the Swahili word ‘Maisha’ (“Livelihood”). The programme’s goal is to provide people with the skills to develop livelihoods in professional photography and filmmaking, or print by utilising Canon’s core expertise in imaging and its network of professionals.”

The initiatives range from fashion and street photography classes to filmmaking workshops and print training for SMEs. During this collaboration, Canon will be conducting a filmmaking workshop and a filmmaking seminar led by an expert in the field and look forward to rolling out more activities in near future.

Simmonds disclosed that the association has been inspired by ‘Kyosei’, Canon’s corporate philosophy which embodies the ideas of living and working together for the common good.

She said: “AFRIFF is a noted film festival that presents a complete immersion into the world of filmmaking with participation from local and international industry bodies, which over the years has fostered film and television education. Canon is proud to partner with such an organisation and would like to thank the management for their continued support as we move forward, we will continue to build on the positive relationships that we share and take it to the next level through our new solutions.”

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