Imaging and optical products manufacturer Canon has partnered with the Kenya Film Commission (KFC) to promote the local film industry.
The two organizations will do this by implementing Canon’s Miraisha Programme which seeks to raise awareness around the film industry as a viable career path in Kenya. The program will similarly support the development of Kenyan youth in the local film industry by facilitating access to Canon’s latest innovative technologies and cameras.
“The focus of this collaboration is to help young people develop their creativity, provide them with the skills they need to facilitate their professional integration in East Africa and wider pan, as well as help them seize international opportunities. To achieve this, the programme matches young Kenyans with professional talents who can share their knowledge of the film industry and give them access to their deep experience,” Canon said in a statement.
Implementation of the Miraisha programme will see the two bodies undertake various short-term training workshops in six different counties in order to hone the skills of young filmmakers and support the sustainable development of the film and television sector.
At the end of the course, students will have learned how to write, shoot, and edit a short film in six days. For each of the six programmes planned, the Kenyan Film Commission will be responsible for selecting 30 students, aged 18 to 35, who are interested in cinematography in each county. On the other hand, Canon will provide a certified trainer for the workshops while similarly offering the technical equipment required to complete the projects. After successfully completing the training, participants will be handed certificates of participation.
The partnership will similarly see Canon and KFC introduce an eight-week film club programme that will be implemented at designated institutions in Nairobi. The programme’s goal is to instill young film students with simple principles of film terminology and the elements of film production, as well as how to shoot basic films on DSLR cameras.
To implement this programme, the Kenyan Film Commission will offer two sessions out of the eight-while Canon will offer six sessions during the eight-week training to teach the basics of film terminology and help over 120 participants to create a film using DSLR cameras.
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