Yaounde: Renowned filmmaker schools young people on screenplay writing.

It was done with support from the United States Embassy in Yaounde and the Ministry of Arts and Culture, MINAC.

The training which lasted June 25 to 26, was opened by the Public Diplomacy-Professional Associate at the US Embassy, Chiekh Ahmadou Bamba Séne.

Speaking at the workshop, Bamba Séne pointed out that the training is part of cooperation between Cameroon and the US that spans across many domains notably culture, health and politics.

He expressed satisfaction with the number of participants who took interest in benefitting from the experience of Enah Johnscott, well-known for writing the country's first movie to feature on Netflix, ‘The Fisherman's Diary’.

Bamba Séne called on trainees to use the knowledge gained to write stories that make a difference. 

“As filmmakers and storytellers, you have the profile to shape narratives that can influence society, challenge perceptions and promote positive change,” Bamba Séne stated. 

The US Embassy official further said: “Your stories can give a voice to the voiceless and create a platform for dialogue. They can also shine a light and inspire collective action on social injustices like Gender Based Violence, human rights abuses and discrimination”.

He also thanked MINAC for its contribution to the success of the training. The official said the support contributes to grow and develop national talents.

To Enah Johnscott, the US Embassy official said “we are privilege to witness your determination to pass down all you have learned over the years to those who look up to and aspire to walk with you in building Cameroon's cultural and entertainment industry”.

Enter Enah Johnscott 

Speaking to the press, Enah said the training was to empower Cameroonian scriptwriters and equip them with skills to revamp storytelling.

“I realised that most of our stories come short because most of our writers have not mastered the concept of storytelling,” Enah said. 

He added that the workshop comes after he was selected to take part in the US-sponsored International Writing Program, IWP, in Iowa.

“The time I spent in Iowa permitted me to share ideas and experiences with the best writers from across the world. Through this, my writing style has improved and my stories are no longer the same,” Enah explained, before situating that: “I thought it wise to come back and share all I learned with my compatriots so together we can uplift the country's movie landscape and make our countrymen proud of the movies we write and produce”.

He added that the participants are going to change their approaches to storytelling and write movies that can compete internationally, get Oscar nominations and wins.

Enah in this regard underscored that: “One of the main challenges of our movie industry is empowerment and tutorship. If we can have a host of good script writers, we stop having the problem of mediocre stories that struggle to sell”.

He added that the Yaounde workshop is a series of four workshops with the towns of Ngaoundere, Buea and Douala scheduled to host the next sessions.

Enter Participants 

Participants at the workshop all expressed gratitude to the organisers.

According to civil society activist, Tudi Nathalie, the workshop was an opportunity for her to upscale her screen writing skills.

“This is an answered prayer for me as it is a kick starter to me being a professional storyteller. I've always had ideas and written scripts but I felt I needed a touch of professionalism which I got during the workshop,” Tudi revealed.

Writer, Denis Nzokwe, lauded the workshop as it is something he had desired for a long time. 

“I have been a writer for a long time but I had never taken it seriously or made it professional. This workshop is an opportunity for me to take my writing seriously and find ways to earn from it,” Nzokwe said, adding that: “I'm also excited about the fact that it is the start of a creation of a network of writers that can impact meaningful change in society because that's what we do as writers”.

For aspiring writer, Mary-Ashley Greatness, “the take home message from the workshop is that I have to make the audience care about my story. For a story to be good, it has to capture the audience”.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3151 of Thursday June 27, 2024