Burundi Film Center
A production blog about the Burundi Film Center and the wonderful and surprising experiences of producing a new series of short films!
July 26, 2010
Hotel Bujumbura
I felt a strange comfort crossing into Burundi yesterday. It caught me by surprise, and I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the first national flag painted on a small, rundown building. There’s been so much uncertainty leading to this point that part of what I felt was definitely relief, but there is also a sense of attachment to the country.
Since the BFC started, I’ve often felt like an unofficial Burundian spokesperson. And the films themselves, having played in so many festivals, undoubtedly gave thousands of people their first look at the country. So being here again reminded me of what’s unique about this place and worth sharing with the world.
Still, a number of people asked me before my trip if it’s safe in Burundi. I asked my friends on the ground here that same question many times before deciding to come this year. The country is still dealing with the first national elections since the civil war ended – highly contested elections that ended up with only the incumbent’s name on the ballot. Then two weeks ago, al-Shabab vowed to bomb Bujumbura for having African Union troops in Somalia. The threat came after an attack killed 70 people in Uganda (watching the World Cup final) for the same reasons. So clearly conditions are not ideal, and security has noticeably been ramped up since I was here in 2007.
To that point, tonight I was stopped by police and held on the side of the road for an entire hour until I could get someone to retrieve my passport. Sounds like a rookie mistake, I know, but in the four times I’ve been to Africa, my white skin has usually given me a free pass from undo scrutiny. It was also usually safer to keep our passports locked up than on us at all times. Not anymore.
Another nuisance has been the fact that none of the living options were very convenient locations and so I’m currently staying in a hotel. If I’m not able to walk between where I’m staying and training (right downtown), life gets a bit complicated. So until we can find a better solution, I’m stuck living like a tourist just when I was starting to feel more at home here.
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July 24, 2010
Life in a Day of Kigali
Tinseltown took their shot at tackling the Rwanda Genocide in the highly celebrated film Hotel Rwanda (2004). That portrayal, however, is still contentious among Rwandans. Most people appreciate the attention it brought, but say they resent the way the story was “Hollywood-ized” to create a hero out of a shrewd businessman while sidestepping the actual horrors that occurred. But today, a handful of Rwandan youth got the chance to make their own Hollywood movie.
Life in a Day is a collaborative film project directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) and produced by Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator). Video submissions from around the world will be stitched together to create a portrait of one random day on planet earth – July 24, 2010. Sundance has already agreed to premiere the film, and you can be sure that thousands of filmmakers were salivating over their chance to participate. I definitely was, and communicated as much in some strategic emails to the production company when asking for cameras to bring to Rwanda. Within days, I had three HD capable digital cameras mailed to my home in Ottawa.
In order to provide some structure to the footage, the director asked that everyone do four things – tell him what makes them scared, what makes them laugh, what they love, and show him whatever is in your pockets. Beyond that, the goal was to film whatever was happening in your life that day. That, and fill out a small mountain of paperwork to clear the rights for everything.
I asked six students from my advertising class to participate. The cameras provided 16 minutes of HD footage, so each student had to chose their words and images wisely. The B-roll footage won’t win any awards, but the confessionals should definitely attract attention. Some examples of what made them scared - running out of money, al-Qaeda and homosexuals.
Unfortunately, connection speeds won’t allow me to upload any of the footage to share, but I’ll be mailing out the memory cards a.s.a.p. for consideration. So while the Rwanda Film Festival has now ended, if we’re lucky, next year we might help “Hillywood” live up to its name.
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July 23, 2010
Africa, as advertised
At night if you didn’t know better, you’d think you were flying into Kigali upside down. Rwanda’s capital sparkles with thousands of individual lights that simulate the perfect celestial sky. There are no highways, skyscrapers or grid-like urban planning – just rolling hills that give the darkness a depth and beauty of a galaxy près-de-chez-nous. Fitting, since even on my third trip here in four years, I still often feel like I’m landing in another world.
First thing in the morning, however, it was down to business. Today was the final day of the Rwanda Film Festival and I was asked to teach a TV advertising workshop to about a dozen students. As I explained to them, even directors in Hollywood work on commercials between projects to help them make a living. The fact Rwanda only has one national television station was beside the point. The tips I gave could all translate into making good short films – keeping the message simple, telling the story visually and making sure every shot says something.
I walked them through the entire process of creating commercials using samples from my work at Acart Communications in Ottawa. So I broke down what makes up an advertising agency in North America (creatives and client services), then showed them the steps and format to write for TV, create animated storyboards and finally the finished product. The fact I used mainly Government of Canada commercials as samples, like our Elder Abuse and 72 Hours “Get Prepared” campaigns, also made them laugh. “Wow, your government cares so much about your people,” one student told me. “It is very different here.”
Overall, I tried to keep things basic and relevant, giving them ideas for how to break into an industry that otherwise seems exclusive and, well, alien. I explained that creating spec TV spots (fake commercials) or exciting “pitch” videos for clients is a good way to start. See there’s often a “catch 22” for working in film and TV –you need to have already done it in order to do it. But everyone has to start somewhere. And knowing how to take that first step yourself can end up being a giant leap in your career.
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July 22, 2010
Project Re-Introduction / The Plan 2010
“So, what exactly are you doing in Burundi?” I’ve heard that question more than a few times lately. Even people who followed the project in 2007 want to know what’s next. Before I explain, let’s recap how we got here. I’ll try and set the stage for the Burundi Film Center in a blog version of those laser, light and sound introductions you get before an IMAX movie.
“First of all, it’s Canadian.” Okay, not really. But I am. After graduating from Carleton University in 2006, I went to Kigali as part of the Rwanda Initiative to train journalists. That’s where I met Raymond Kalisa, a freelance videographer who told me about his dream to give Burundian youth the same opportunities he was getting in Rwanda to make films and tell stories. Raymond’s wife is Burundian, and although Rwanda has got a lot of attention in the last 15 years, Burundi has been severely overlooked.
Chances are you’ve heard about the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 that erupted between Hutu/Tutsi ethnic tensions. Well the same dynamic existed (and sometimes still exists) in Burundi, only instead of a 100-day genocide, Burundi had a 12 year civil war. A peace agreement was signed in 2005, and a couple years later we launched the BFC as a pilot-project under the mandate to “Inspire. Educate. Entertain.”
Placed in that larger context, our goals can admittedly sound a bit quaint or superfluous. Still, when you consider we had no funding, brought our own equipment and worked entirely in French (everyone’s second language, at best), we made some pretty great inroads. We trained 36 youth the basics of film theory and production and produced five short dramatic films that have played in over 50 international film festivals around the world. Last year we produced “Home Free”, a 22-minute documentary about Burundian refugees that is used as a teaching tool all over North America and Europe. Some of our students helped create that film, and we gave other students opportunities to train in Canada, the U.S., Germany and South Africa. We also have a traveling film festival so the films get seen within Burundi. And trust me, the IMAX experience is no match for the mean (and lively) streets of Bujumbura.
Our plan for 2010 is to once again produce five new short films and create another festival. This time, however, we’ll lean on our students from 2007 to help us with the teaching. And by us, I really mean me. We do have a team making everything happen, and although we’re much more prepared in almost every other way, I will once again be doing almost all the teaching myself. Hopefully though, one day that will change.
If last time is any indication, the blog will serve as both a detailing of the day-to-day challenges and my attempt to gain some perspective on everything. And like 2006, everything will start in Kigali, where I’ll be attending the much more establish Rwanda Film Festival with our films for a few days. Then it’s off to Bujumbura until September 1st.
Regular entries will not be this long, but I can’t end without thanking everyone who donated towards the project this year. I was incredibly inspired by your generosity, and you have no idea how much peace of mind it provides to know there’s some help carrying the load.
I’ll end by saying that when this summer’s training looked in doubt, I was reassured by Papy Jamaica, the BFC Technical Director, to push forward and that we would get lots of help on the ground. “No worries, my brother. In B’rundi, BFC name is good!” I guess we’ll find out.
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BFC Buzz: Back to Burundi
June 28, 2010
In just a few short weeks, the Burundi Film Center hopes to once again “Inspire. Educate. Entertain.”!
We’re now asking for your help to continue the project in some very important and difficult times.
Today was a major day in Burundian history. It marked the first national Presidential elections since the end of the Civil War in 2005. However, opposition protests left only one name was on the ballot, and so political uncertainty continues.
The events have made planning difficult for this summer. I have, however, been invited to and will attend the Rwanda Film Festival at the end of July. We are therefore doing everything we can to try and maintain our teaching plans this summer.
A donations website is set-up to help make everything happen. The money is for on-the-ground expenses in Africa, with incentives for each level of donations.
We hope you can find a way to contribute!
www.indiegogo.com/bfc
Please email me if you have any questions.
Christopher Redmond
Burundi Film Center
Co-founder/ Project Manager
(613) 697-7946 - CANADA
www.burundifilmcenter.org
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Coup de projecteur sur le Burundi
5 courts métrages au cœur de l’Afrique
Le Burundi Film Center est un projet de développement média créé à l’initiative de 3 cinéastes canadiens. Le projet a été lancé au Burundi au cours de l’été 2007. Sans aide financière extérieure, avec leur matériel et quelques amis débrouillards, ils ont formé, aux rudiments de la production cinématographique, 36 étudiants âgés de 18 à 25 ans. Il en résulte 5 courts métrages de fiction présentés dans le cadre du 24ème Pan-Africa International. Cette présentation est organisée en collaboration avec Citizen Shift, la plate-forme multi-média citoyenne de l’Office National du Film du Canada.
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Category : Press releases
ReelWorld Film Festival and the NFB present:
Toronto Premiere
of
BFC: Five Short Films
______________________________________________________________________
When: FRIDAY, April 4, 2008 – 7:30PM
Where: 150 John Street (NFB Mediatheque)
Who: Produced by the Burundi Film Center
______________________________________________________________
Toronto audiences will have their first chance to see the BFC films on Friday, April 4, 2008 at the ReelWorld Film Festival. The screening is in participation with the National Film Board of Canada and will feature a Q&A with BFC co-founder Christopher Redmond. Show begins at 7:30pm at the NFB Mediatheque, 150 John Street (Osgoode subway station).
Backgrounder:
Burundi, located just south of Rwanda, is a nation emerging from a war-time crisis and entering a new era of cultural understanding, tolerance and education. The absence of a developed media has crippled the nation’s ability to operate as a proper democracy and exposed the need for professional journalism and artistic expression through audio-visual storytelling. The Burundi Film Center is a unique opportunity for Burundian citizens to learn essential 21st century mass communication skills from Canadian filmmakers and documentarians, while engaging those same media experts in African issues.
A long-term partnership with Canadian media professionals and students are integral to this realization by sharing their knowledge, passion and expertise with the future generation of Africa’s burgeoning media. Building on the Rwanda Initiative’s successful model, the BFC will further the nation’s capacity to think critically about domestic issues and empower a new generation to evoke social change through film and video.
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CitizenShift invites you to the Montreal Premiere for the FIRST FIVE FILMS from the Burundi Film Center (BFC).
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When: SATURDAY, December 1st 7PM
(Doors open at 6PM)
Where: NFB CineRobotheque
1564 St-Denis Street (Métro Berri-UQAM)
Who: Produced by the Burundi Film Center
featuring a Q&A with co-founder Christopher Redmond
and instructors Sabrina Guerrieri and Bridget Farr
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Admission: $5 - All proceeds in benefit of the BFC
Backgrounder
The Burundi Film Center (BFC) is a media development projected launched by three Canadian filmmakers in the little-known East African nation of Burundi. With no outside funding, their own equipment and some resourceful friends, the Canadians (two from Ottawa, one from Montreal) were able to train 36 students, aged 18-25, the basics of film production and produce five short dramatic films. Already wooing audiences around East Africa, the films now come to Montreal for the first time.
Overview
Burundi, located just south of Rwanda, is a nation emerging from a war-time crisis and entering a new era of cultural understanding, tolerance and education. The absence of a developed media has crippled the nation’s ability to operate as a proper democracy and exposed the need for professional journalism and artistic expression through audio-visual storytelling. The Burundi Film Center is a unique opportunity for Burundian citizens to learn essential 21st century mass communication skills from Canadian filmmakers and documentarians, while engaging those same media experts in African issues.
A long-term partnership with Canadian media professionals and students are integral to this realization by sharing their knowledge, passion and expertise with the future generation of Africa’s burgeoning media. Building on the Rwanda Initiative’s successful model, the BFC will further the nation’s capacity to think critically about domestic issues and empower a new generation to evoke social change through film and video.
The Burundi Film Center aims to share unique stories with a universal appeal to global audiences and
INSPIRE. EDUCATE. ENTERTAIN.
Media Contact: Christopher Redmond, BFC Co-Founder/ Project Manger
Ph: 613-697-7946 E-mail: credmond@canadianfilm.com
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This Wednesday, the Canadian Film Institute presents FIVE SHORT FILMS:
Straight from the Heart of Africa.
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When: WEDNESDAY, September 19, 2007 – 7:00PM
Where: 395 Wellington Street (Library and Archives Canada) - OTTAWA
Who: Produced by the Burundi Film Center
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Included in the event:
- Photo Exhibit by Bridget Farr and Silent Auction
- East African cuisine
- Traditional Burundian entertainment (pending availability)
Admission: $10 - All proceeds to benefit the BFC
Backgrounder
The Burundi Film Center (BFC) is a media development projected launched by three Canadian filmmakers in the little-known East African nation of Burundi. With no outside funding, their own equipment and some resourceful friends, the Canadians (two from Ottawa, one from Montreal) were able to train 36 students, aged 18-25, the basics of film production and produce five short dramatic films. Already wooing audiences around East Africa, the films now come to Ottawa for their Canadian premiere on Wednesday, September 19th.
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August 15, 2007 - Blog 25 of 25
Aaaaand, That’s a Wrap!
A student told me at the premiere that it must be a nice feeling to have finally made it to the end of two months of hard work. “Two months??” I said, “more like nine months of working non-stop to get to this point.” She looked at me and smiled. “Nine months,” she repeated, “oh well then I guess this is just the birth.” I couldn’t have found a more apt analogy if I would have tried.
The pilot-project phase of the Burundi Film Center is now officially complete and my first of a three flights back to Canada leaves in just a few hours. It only seems appropriate that I’m still rushing against the clock to write this final entry, despite an incredibly relaxing one week holiday on the heavenly beaches of Zanzibar. My 24 hour return to Burundi before my flight home has been a frantic relay of finalizing everything necessary and wrestling through more seemingly insurmountable technical difficulties. Luckily, as has been the trend, friends and colleagues have stepped up and rose to the challenge, making sure I return home with copies of the films that contain both French and English subtitles. At the end of the day, those films will be the only concrete evidence of what we’ve accomplished and will hopefully be the gateway to some funding in the future.
Mark your calendars, because the BFC films will premiere in Canada at a screening/fundraiser officially slated for Wednesday, September 19 in Ottawa! I will provide more details as soon as they are available in the hopes everyone who has been following this blog, and even those who haven’t, can come and enjoy a truly unique evening of entertainment. I hope to bring in Burundian drummers, screen some behind the scenes mini-documentaries and showcase more ‘Farrout’ pictures, so it should be a great presentation of everything we’ve done so far.
I want to take this final space to thank everyone who has helped this project become what it is and sent their support throughout our time here. Reading everyone’s reactions to the project really gave us the encouragement to carry on and was appreciated in ways I can’t properly articulate. The kindness, generosity and hard work of those on the ground in Burundi – the students and volunteers – also needs to be acknowledged because we would be nowhere without you. Thank you Papy for your equipment, expertise and unparalleled support whenever we needed you. Apollinaire you were always there for us and brought a warmth of character that is always calming and re-assuring. Sabrina, you believed in the project and came on board while everything was still in pieces, you are far beyond your years and will always have a place with the BFC. Bridget, thank you for the beauty of your pictures and presence, never failing to keep myself and those around you optimistic – I hope you as well will grow with the future of the BFC. And Raymond – get back to work. I already hear our newborn crying out to be fed, so I guess we better find a way to provide. What have we gotten ourselves into…
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