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Injecting life into a fledgling industryThursday, January 15, 2009 In December last year, the Future Ambassadors of Movie and Entertainment in Africa (Fame Africa) project was launched. Though a small occurrence in itself, the event heralded a new beginning for The Gambia’s movie industry which has taken many faltering steps forward but had never really taken off. With this new and highly innovative concept, there is much hope for our movie industry. Like many of the world’s most brilliant ideas, the concept is fairly simple. To make movies you need scripts; good scripts lay the foundation for the production of good movies. To get good scripts, you need good writers. Thus the aim of the Fame Africa project is to encourage writing and to develop the skills of people with writing potential. However, for the project to be successful, different actors need to come in to play their parts. These are not only limited to the people who will be directly involved in the production of movies, but others in various sectors. The government and the private sector have an important role to play in the development of this vital industry. Consequently, the endorsement of the Fame Project by various stakeholders such as the DoSCIIT, DoSBSE, and private businesses is an important step, as it elucidates the fact that Gambians are taking ownership of the project. A new partner in the implementation of the project was announced at the project’s official launching last month. This is no other than our very own partners and sponsor, Oceanic Bank. The bank is now said to be a major sponsor of the project. Speaking to Business and Finance, Ebou Waggeh, the chief executive officer of Wax Media Services – who also serve as a branding consultancy firm for Oceanic Bank, explains why the bank is involved. “It is part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility,” he says adding “We are into anything that can develop this country and we believe that the development of the movie industry will be good for the country.” And he should very well know. Anyone who is familiar with film production in the country knows Ebou Waggeh as his is a household name. One of the pioneers of television broadcasting in the country, Waggeh and his peers at GRTS – Lamin Manga, Haruna Drammeh, and others – later left the public broadcaster to start their own concerns which now provide a great many of the multimedia services need by businesses and individuals. According to him, the movie industry is vital not only because it can create much needed jobs, but will also promote the image of the country, which will in turn aid the tourism sector. It can also be a forex earner for the country. Last week, the organisers with the support of the bank, embarked on a Fame Africa road show which took place from the January 5-9. According to Modou Lamin Drammeh, the Chief Executive Office of Intouch – who is one of the main people behind the initiative, the “objective was to sensitize the general public that the story writing contest had begun”. He adds: “The general public is urged to start writing. The stories will be made into a movie. The stories can take the form of a drama, fiction, history, true story comedy etc. The story should not exceed 3000 words and the winning story gets a five year movie contract and a cash prize of up to D100,000”. Is the Fame project only limited to the Greater Banjul Area. Definitely not, according to Drammeh as “plans are underway to move to the rural areas”. Currently, Fame cards are on sale at various outlets. If you wish to be part of the project, go get one. The deadline for submission of stories is February 2008. Author: By Kojo |
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