Opening of film school a step in bid to break into global movie scene: Wario
Hassan Wario, the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and the Arts, in Nairobi on August 25, 2016. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
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He said lack of professionalism, ill-trained staff, adequate and obsolete equipment and outdated curricula in the more than 30 institutions sampled across the country had eroded the industry’s potential.
The school, which has been branded East Africa’s benchmark of film institutions, admitted its first batch of 25 students in June.
Hassan Wario, the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and the Arts, on Wednesday said the opening of the Kenya Film School was the first step in the country’s bid to break into the global movie scene.
Dr Wario said the government would crack down on mediocre arts training schools, some only having one “malfunctioning 1950s box camera” to be used by the students.
He said lack of professionalism, ill-trained staff, adequate and obsolete equipment and outdated curricula in the more than 30 institutions sampled across the country had eroded the industry’s potential.
“The Kenya Film School is a show of the commitment to discover and develop the potential in youth by giving them equal opportunities,” the CS said during the school’s first graduation.
The school, which has been branded East Africa’s benchmark of film institutions, admitted its first batch of 25 students in June.
Dr Wario added that Kenya and Venezuela have planned a cultural week in Nairobi in mid-2017. He said the country’s ambassador to Kenya Jholny Arismendi promised a study-tour for some of the graduates to the Latin American country early next year.
The six-month course at the institution was designed as hands-on; 70 per cent practical and 30 per cent theory.
