By Clever Advertising
Last Friday, the first intake of students at the EbonyLife Creative Academy (ELCA) had a historic ceremony to celebrate their graduation. The event took place at the EbonyLife Place, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The free training which was funded by Lagos State Government through Lagos State Creative Industries Initiative (LACI), under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, kicked off on the 8th of March, 2021. The students took various courses designed by local and foreign industry experts. These courses were designed to help working film professionals improve their skills, and to equip beginners with the skills they need to launch their careers.
At the end of their courses, groups of students from different disciplines merged into teams to produce short films for exhibition. The six films; Reflections, Monitoring Spirits, Dilemma, Fury, Ifeloju and The Next Best Thing, were shown during the event at the EbonyLife Cinemas. Each film was greeted with sustained applause from students and their VIP guests, as their impressive filmmaking skills were on display. Several prizes were awarded to outstanding students, to recognise their efforts.
The Hon. Commissioner for Tourism, Arts & Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf remarked: “I am so proud of this first batch of young filmmakers, who have spent the last three months honing their skills. They are well on their way to becoming the highly skilled technical and creative filmmakers that we need to help us to drive the creative economy forward.”
On her part, Mo Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife Media, was equally impressed. “These graduates have made the most of the learning opportunities made possible by Lagos State’s funding of this Academy. As Nigerian films begin to make an impact in world cinema, I believe that this new generation of filmmakers will tell our story in new and original ways.”
Beaming with pride, the Head of School, Mr. Theart Korsten spoke about their journey. His words: “This group faced all the challenges we set and found a way to overcome them. My hope is that they see the twelve weeks they spent at ELCA as the beginning of a never-ending process of lifelong learning, as their skills and the technology they use continue to evolve.”
Among guests at the event were representatives from technical partners, HP and Zinox.
