By Mahzouba Maya Faal
The Director General of the National Center for Arts and Culture (NCAC) has said he is really impressed with films produced by six young Gambians noting that there is a lot of great cinema coming out of The Gambia now.
Mr Hassoum Ceesay made the remarks last Friday at the law faculty of the University of The Gambia (UTG) at the Management Development Institute (MDI) campus in Kanifing.
“The film industry is really doing well despite meager resources. The directors, producers, actresses and actors are all doing wonderful and I think the way forward is bright and hopeful,” DG Ceesay said.
He also recognized the challenges the industry is facing and reaffirmed NCAC’s support to ensure that filmmakers are given the right opportunities.
The six short films were produced by six young Gambians who recently returned from a month-long intensive filmmaking training in Ghana. The films were produced under the ‘Make A Difference’ project by Weltfilme Germany in partnership with Young men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Ghana, Sierra Leone Adult Education Association (SLADEA), NAEAL, XChange Perspective and the UTG. The Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and Brot fur die Welt provided financial support.
The month long project in Ghana brought together 12 filmmakers (trainers) and 24 aspirants (trainees) from Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and for the first time, The Gambia. It focused on how to write and produce fiction films and documentaries.
After a two-week training in Koforidua, participants were divided into six groups and each was tasked with the responsibility of producing one short film during the upper weeks that followed.
The movies produced are Plastic Man, Redemption, Life on The Road (documentaries), Beyond the Service, Ray of Hope, and Ride with Me (fiction).
The occasion was graced by the president of Screen Actors Guild of Gambia (SAGG) Shiekh Omar Sawaneh, Mam Demba Ceesay of Gambia Union for Theatre (GAMUT), Ebrima John Jaiteh (actor), students and people from different walks of life.
Fatou Sanneh, a student at UTG’s School of Journalism and Digital Media commended the actors for producing the films.
She said she felt in love with the work of the youth which shows that with determination, a lot of things can happen. She added that the stories are relatable and interesting with a lot to learn.
Kara Jallow, a political science student at UTG described the video screening as an interesting experience.
“The movies premiered had not only entertained me but equally exposed me to a wide-range of practices that affect people, particularly those from developing countries. Though shot in Ghana as I was told, the central themes featured embrace a holistic approach encompassing various issues and discourses with relevance to health, land, drug abuse, rural-urban drift and life on the traffic amongst others,” he said.
