Lagos Film Academy set to train young filmmakers

In a bid to address crucial skill gaps in the creative industries, the Lagos Film Academy (LFA) has concluded plans to host a state-of-the-art training week billed to open on July 8 through July 12, 2019. The training session for young filmmakers will feature the fourth edition of award-winning filmmaker Chris Ihidero’s Story Story, as well as the second edition of the TV Writing Masterclass.

It will be recalled that LFA has since inception rolled out various exciting training capsules, most recently Film for Life, wherein they selected three young aspiring filmmakers who had the opportunity to make a short film directed at the Nigerian general elections.

This Training Week is no different. Story Story has held as a pro bono workshop for four years, allowing aspiring and early career storytellers learn from experts drawn from film, media, advertising, dance, software, and related fields.

Chris Ihidero’s TV Writing masterclass is a paid-for weeklong training aimed to entry to mid-level writers, working in TV, film, media and stage. Both trainings have previously held independent of each other but will now combine in an explosive week.

Ihidero, who has been telling stories professionally for 23 years, started out as a theatre actor and director, and he has worked as a theatre artist, broadcaster, newspaper columnist, magazine editor and university lecturer.

In 2015, he produced the groundbreaking HIV and behavioural change focused drama series MTV Shuga Series 4, and he resumed this role on MTV Shuga Series 6 in 2017. Ihidero has directed over 100 hours of TV drama, including Fuji House of Commotion, Tempest and Now we are Married. He has also made two short films, including Big Daddy (2012), a film about rape.

“I’m thrilled to be working with the Lagos Film Academy again to deliver an explosive week of training and learning for the young and mid-career creatives in our midst,” Mr. Ihidero said.

“Learning from experts and training the next batch of creatives is how an industry grows.”

Participants of both Story Story and TVWM will also combine for a Q&A session on storytelling for 3hrs on Saturday July 13. Other notable filmmakers will join Ihidero for this session, which will then be followed by a cocktail.