UBa performing & visual arts students project five films.

It was part of the practical work done by students of the department, dubbed "The Arts factory". It was facilitated by course instructors specialised in film production, Dr Yadia Calvin and Dr Tafor Ateh.

According to Dr Yadia Calvin, the productions were aimed at enabling the students to be able to do practical work on the field in order to concretely and practically understand how film production is done. 

Dr Yadia expressed satisfaction with the quality of the productions and the ability of the students to commercialize their film by financing their posters, selling tickets prior to the final projection.

He added that working with students especially on film production have been a challenging task due to lack of equipment. 

"To be able to succeed with the five films that have been produced by students, we had to rent equipment and bring some out of the University of Bamenda. And it was a bit heavy on students who had to contribute so as to be able to do a practical work on the field," he said. 

Dr Yadia appealed to authorities of the University of Bamenda for a space or theater for the department that will ease facilitate practical sessions and make the arts factory not just something for the University but for the whole of the North West Region and beyond.

He, however, believes that the skills acquired by students throughout the production is going to help them in the job market as students were assigned specific roles during the production process. 

Speaking to The Guardian Post, the director of the one of the films, ‘My Abusive Boyfriend’, Amabo Chris, said the practical exercise made him to understand the challenges of directing a movie. 

"At times, the script is written, but having a location as per the script is not easy, because it gets difficult to have a permit from the authorities to use a particular location,” he said, while evoking challenges of coordinating the entire crew as well as getting funding for production.  

Overcoming the obstacles, Amabo said he made use of friends in Bambili for location, and tried to adapt the script indoors while contributions from classmates assisted in funding.  

He, however, believes that the skills he has gained throughout the production process will help him greatly in the job market.

"...if I can source for funding, it is going to help me to produce films and put them in a position where it can get me money,” he stated. 

The director of the film, ‘Exuberance’, Kengo Serge, said the biggest challenge faced in the production process was lack of equipment. 

"We have always struggled with the small equipment that we have,” he said noting that managing the outdated equipment for the production was “stressful and equally affected the sound quality of the film".

Despite the challenges, Kengo believes that with the skills acquired in the production will help him to create a YouTube channel for his movies.

On his part, the director of the film, ‘The Common Man’, Siduan Akongma, highlighted that the challenge he encountered through the production is that they noticed some cliches with their images which was something that could not be arranged in the studio making it difficult to bring back images. 

With the skills acquired, Akongma believes he can make money from it. "Even while in school I am already directing films for organisations, doing photography and also editing for many people which I am making money from," he said.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3463 of Tuesday June 03, 2025