Monrovia – The National Adult Education Association of Liberia (NAEAL), under the project “Right On” Film for Change and Development Project, has certificated 29 young Liberians in Filmmaking and Media for Peace.
The training which was climaxed in Monrovia over the weekend witnessed the certification of 10 filmmakers started in June 2020 in Voinjama, Lofa County with 3 weeks of intensive Film and Media for Peace training for 10 participants.
Nine participants were trained in Buchanan City, Grand Bassa County in July 2020.
Speaking at the certification Ceremony, the Project Coordinator at NAEAL, Luther N. Mafalleh said the project ‘Right On Film making training was carried out in three counties, Grand Bassa, Lofa, and Montserrado training a total of 29 participants who have produced 6 short films, 3 documentaries, and 3 feature films.
He said the films were produced after the participants have been taught in screenwriting, treatment writing, Directing, Producing, Camera, and Editing and Media for Peace.
Mafalleh added that later this year, after their post-production activities, the films that were produced by the young people will be taken to the counties in a Cinema tour, where the conversation will be sparked around stigmatization, and devastation brought about by coronavirus and also what has been the impact on the people of Liberia. “We will, later on, submit these films to film festivals, to showcase how talented the young people in Liberia are, and also screen it internationally in Togo, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia and who knows whether these films would obtain some international awards,” said Mafalleh.
He further encouraged the beneficiaries to remain focused and to improve on the skills they have acquired and continue moving forward with their dreams.
Beneficiaries expressed happiness over the knowledge gained and promised of using them wisely.
One of the beneficiaries, Jenneh Nyumah of Lofa who built her focus on camera testified of how her capacity has been developed stronger just from Right On filmmaking training.
“My appreciation to all of my facilitators for the vibrant knowledge sharing” said Jenneh Nyumah.
Philip Yogar of Grand Bassa said he is happy for all that has been added to his directing skills, especially the new ideas taught in the training. “I am going to make good use of what I learned here during the training and past knowledge over to others,”
Another participant, Musuleng Mayon of Montserrado said, “In a very short period, my mentality has been changed by the Media for Peace. It
has helped me to see life from another perspective”.
In a special remark at the Voinjama certification Ceremony, the founder of the Guowoigi Entertainment center in Voinjama city Archie Bawo thanked facilitators and Sponsors of the training for the tremendous efforts in building the capacity of the young of Liberia people in filmmaking. “There is a great need to always reveal through films the rich culture and heritage of Liberia, and for us to have value, we must work as a team, and count on me for the support,” Archie Bawo told beneficiaries.
The training in Liberia was conducted by Luther N. Mafalleh, Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh, Joseph F. Doe, Augustine G. Kessellie and Othello Zordyu. More of such training are expected to be implemented in Liberia under the Weltfilme and NAEAL PARTNERSHIP.
The overall goal of the Right On Project in Liberia is to build and enhance the skills of young people who are interested in science and art of Filmmaking in order to diversify their skills and produce standard movies that will lead to change in the Liberian society, West Africa and the world at large.
Right On Filmmaking project is also implemented in Ghana by the Ghana YMCA, Togo by CNA Togo, Sierra Leone by the Sierra Adult Education Association, and the Gambia by the University of Gambia. The project focuses on Human Rights Related Issues and how COVID-19 has affected the rights and livelihood of people.
In Liberia, it is implemented by the National Adult Education Association of Liberia (NAEAL) in partnership with Weltfilme with financial support from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany and Bread for the World.