Philippino filmmaker Khavn and programmer Gertjan Zuilhof returned to Yaounde, Cameroon.
There is no film school in Cameroon. Not yet. But there will be a small one very soon. We met the enthousiast and energetic Lambert Ndzana. He showed us around in the freshly plastered building with dark class rooms around a small courtyard, or parking if you want. Strangely enough it made me think of Romanesque monasteries, beacuse of its lay out and minimal furniture. The architecture seemed to dictate the educational system with special rooms for script, editing etc. The school is a private initiative and the first pupils, who will be trained to be complete professionals as far Ndzana is concerned, will arrive in September.
Entrepreneur Lambert Ndzana in front of his Yaounde film school office
I don't think Ndzana's film school ( LN International) will focus on independent art cinema, but I guess some young people who will here learn the tricks of the trade, can use these skils for whatever they want. One of the more promissing talents of the cinema of Cameroon (I will give his name later, it is not an easy name and I have it written on a dvd that is already on it's way) we found already in one of the small editing rooms. He worked on some commissioned video, but I am sure he was perfecting his craftmenship at the same time.
Young Yaoundanees filmmaker and Khavn watching film school promotion
Already in Buea we were invited into the family house of filmmaker Achille Brice. Getting to know somebody here in Cameroon means you will get to know his or her family as well. I was never invited into the parents house of a Dutch filmmaker and not that often into the family house of an Asian filmmaker, but here we frequently met the relatives of our new filmmaker friends.
Young producer Itambi Delphine took the picture of her sisters family. On the left filmmaker Khvan and on the right Gertjan Zuilhof