Usaku Wammanda: Africans Must Tell Their Own Stories, Shape Global Cinema

Dr. Usaku Wammanda, a lecturer at Film and Multimedia Department, School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, discusses the International Student Film Festival and the significance of African filmmakers. The festival, the third edition, aims to celebrate young filmmakers and create a platform for them to collaborate with industry experts and potential funders.

This year, the festival focused on African student filmmakers' films, encouraging industry people to engage with the students and potentially pick up interest in their work. The festival's major objective is to celebrate these young filmmakers and discuss the future of African cinema and film schools. The university has recently established a Film and Multimedia Studies department, following the unbundling by the National University Commission.

The festival specifically accepted submissions from African student filmmakers to showcase African storytelling to the wider world. So far, the level of collaboration has been encouraging, with keynotes delivered by Daniel Eton and Femi Adebayo, and various industry collaborators such as MultiChoice and film schools from around the world.

The school has been supportive in terms of funding, with various organizations providing support. Dr. Wammanda emphasizes the richness of African culture, stating that there are countless untold stories waiting to be discovered and shared. He believes that Africans are now in a position to tell their own stories, moving away from relying on external narratives.