WEOWNTV FILMMAKER FELLOWSHIP
What are the critical issues facing your community? Do you have a story that needs to be told?
2018/2019 FELLOWSHIP
The WeOwnTV Filmmaker Fellowship is a film fund and professional development program supporting the production of independent documentaries directed by West African filmmakers. This year we accepted applications from filmmakers who are living and working in Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone and are also citizens of those countries. The program provides filmmakers with funding for their project, filmmaking (creative labs) labs, one-on-one mentoring, professional development workshops and networking opportunities.
In July 2018 WeOwnTV welcomed seven new fellows to our 18 month Filmmaker Fellowship program. We are thrilled to announce that this year’s WeOwnTV Filmmaker Fellowship class expanded to include seven fellows from three different countries; Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. This year the fellowship is also adding three new components to the program; IDFAcademy partnership, the Fatima Fofana memorial award and a professional development fellowship. WeOwnTV is partnering with the Bertha Foundation and IDFAcademy to add an international travel component to the fellowship. Four fellows together and the mentors have been invited to attend as an official West African Delegation to the 2018 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in November. The team will attend the 4 day IDFAcademy program and then stay to continue meetings and experience the festival.
The Fellowship is made possible through generous support from the Bertha Foundation, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation and Global Giving Foundation.
HOW TO APPLY
Submissions for the 2018 WeOwnTV Filmmaker Fellowship are now closed. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly with any questions about the program. Send email to: info@weowntv.org.
CAMPAIGN MISSION
In early 2016, we launched the WeOwnTV Filmmaker Fellowship, a regional film fund and professional development program supporting the production of independent documentaries directed by Guinean, Sierra Leonean and Liberian filmmakers. The goal of the challenge is to help amplify and support important voices within the West African indigenous media sector. The fund is the first of its kind in the region, and through this fellowship, we hope to play a small part in supporting the political right to free speech by providing a forum for creative citizens to exercise this freedom.
THE 2017 FELLOWSHIP
Ten finalists from the open challenge were selected to participate in our inaugural WeOwnTV Fellowship, which provides workshops and mentoring support for selected filmmakers for a year.From the impressive group of ten finalists, we selected 7 fellows who will share $48,000 in cash assistance and distribution opportunities. A production workshop was held in the first week of May at our Freetown Media Center, where the fellows presented their work and received training and mentorship from industry leaders. Two editorial workshops were also held in Freetown and focussed on media management and story crafting of the fellowship projects. We will continue to work with the fellows to complete their projects and explore distribution opportunities through 2017.
Our 2016 Fellows pose with filmmaker mentors Emma Christopher and Sergio Levya at the edit and story workshop.
OUR 2016 FELLOWS
John Solo
“Life after the Army” focuses on the daily activities and stories of five ex-service men who left the army through the Voluntary Retirement Program. The difficult lives of these men and the stories they tell echo the sentiment of thousands of their comrades who are scattered across Sierra Leone having gone through the same retirement program.
George Lewis
“Holes in my Backyard” is a documentary that looks at some of the secret activities around coastal settlements in Sierra Leone. Kroo Bay slum settlement is in the very heart of the city. This settlement is notorious for many illegal activities such as prostitution, drug dealing and gambling. Notably the settlement is now a key smuggling port for people bringing in and taking out illegal goods.
Michael Kargbo
“Bridging Communities After Ebola” Even after Ebola had been declared over; Ebola survivors are still perceived as those who brought death to their communities. The main story would focus on a particular journalist, who tries to break the chain of discrimination or stigmatization for a peaceful coexistence, through the media and other peace building mechanisms.
Additional Fellows:
Amara Lugbou Kamara, Risk Life
Michaella Sallu, The Journey
Mohamed Sheriff, Okada
Tyson Conteh, An’Bondo Beyky
Partners:
The WeOwnTv Filmmaker Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of these partners and supporters.
Partners and Supporters:
The Bertha Foundation, the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation and the Global Giving Foundation.
Advisory Board:
Ben Fowlie (Founder/Programmer The Camden International Film Festival), Charlie Phillips (The Guardian), David Sengeh (Global Minimum), Ingrid Kopp (the Tribeca Film Institute), Iyabo Boyd (Filmmaker), Rebecca Lichtenfeld (The Bertha Foundation) and Wendy Levy (NAMAC/Sundance).
Fellowship Directors:
Banker White and Anna Fitch (WeOwnTV), Arthur Pratt and Lansana Mansaray (Freetown Media Center).