Canon train 60 young people at Abuja Film Festival
Popular camera maker, Canon, has partnered with the 14th Abuja International Film Festival to train young Nigerians in the basics of Canon DSLR filmmaking techniques and Photography.
The training workshop, in conjunction with Canon Central and North Africa office will see 60 shortlisted Nigerians trained from October 5 to October 10, 2017 in the fundamental rudiments of cinematography and Photography.
Katie Simmonds, Strategic Operations Professional of Canon, said the initiative comes under Project Maraisha Initiative which is Canon’s expansion into Africa.
“The objective is to train groups of young Africans in the skills required for them to find sustainable employment or indeed to establish their own business,” said Simmonds.
The founder of the Abuja International Film Festival, Fidelis Duker, reiterated the vision of the Abuja International Film festival which is to build capacity within the creative sector and also act as a catalyst and platform for economic empowerment of those working in the creative sector.
In his words “there is no way majority of this applicants will ever remain the same after completing this training workshop as we are simply teaching them how to fish rather than giving them fish to eat. They will ultimately garner skills and also become self-sustaining creative entrepreneurs.”
Some movies slated for the festival include Code: The IF Project, The Listeners, Class Divide, Fastball, and High School 911 while a unique feature of this year’s festival will be the Fashion Photography by the trainees.
On completion of the Cinematography training, five short films will be made and screened during the festival while the photographs of those in the Photography class will be exhibited during the Festival.
Also returning for the second year running is the American Film Showcase which holds at the 14th Abuja International Film Festival from Oct 9-13, 2017 and is open to the public. The U.S. Embassy in Abuja will also showcase contemporary American documentaries, offering a view of American society and culture as seen by independent filmmakers. The screenings will also feature a Masterclass with the American filmmakers.
