The objective of the event is to promote and celebrate films and filmmaking by student filmmakers in Africa and to facilitate job creation and business opportunities for University students.
By Ashraf Aboul Yazid
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
The Varsity Film Expo has invited the young African film makers to send entries of short animated films for the ‘Varsity Film Expo 2022’ being held under the theme ‘Africa Animating SDGs’.
The short animated films should be in English or any local languages with subtitles. The duration of the film should be 3-10 minutes. At least one of the team members – Writer/Director/Producer should be enrolled at an African University.
Best short films are going to be selected based on adherence to theme, originality, innovation and creativity. The aspirants can submit up to 5 short films only. There is no submission fee.
The deadline for submission of films is November 15, 2022 while the shortlisted films will be notified on December 6 and the event will be held on December 15-16, 2022.
The Varsity Film Expo, an annual event for emerging content creators at universities, features film screenings, speaking sessions, workshops, exhibitions, a book launch and awards honoring the best entries. The 2-day program is tailored to satisfy the needs and tastes of young and emerging filmmakers although it’s open to other attendees.
The theme for the Varsity Film Expo 2022 is ‘Africa animating SDGs’. The theme supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals for a better world. The theme is in line with ‘Agenda 2063’, Africa’s master plan to achieve inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development by the year 2063. Film is a powerful and effective medium for raising awareness and motivating community action towards Sustainable Development Goals. The Varsity Film Expo puts critical SDG issues in the limelight and stimulates conversations and dialogue around them.
“Our primary target is young people as they are the torchbearers of tomorrow, the only way we can change tomorrow is by acting today. Africa has the youngest population in the world. We have chosen university students as they are the biggest drivers of Africa’s changing socio-economic landscape. 9 million students are currently enrolled in universities across Africa,” the Varsity Film Expo officials say.
Their vision is a critical mass and generation of audacious young storytellers and their mission is to discover, educate, nurture and promote young storytellers.
The objective of the event is to promote and celebrate films and filmmaking by student filmmakers in Africa; to curate unique cultural experiences which educate and entertain; to build audiences and grow a cinema culture in the region; to promote film literacy in Africa; to facilitate job creation and business opportunities for University students in content production; to facilitate collaborations between students at regional, continental and international level; to promote, market and distribute films by emerging filmmakers at African Universities.
The Varsity Film Expo is a platform for activating a new consciousness and trajectory among young African storytellers. One of its overarching aims is to help cultivate an African youth that is taking charge of its own destiny today through storytelling.
Africa is on the rise. It is the world’s fastest-growing continent in terms of Gross Domestic Product and has 10 of the world’s fastest-growing economies as noted by ‘Africa No Filter’ in a recent report. The internet and mobile market is booming in Africa creating huge opportunities for the creative and digital economy. According to a recent report by UNESCO, Africa has the potential to create over 20 million jobs and contribute US$ 20 billion to the continent’s combined GDP.
Africa has one of the fastest-growing higher education sectors in the world. Young people are the opportunity for Africa’s makeover. Currently, there are 9 million students enrolled in African universities. These students’ creativity and innovation can be harnessed to motivate positive transformation in Africa. Africa also holds a record for the highest youth population in the world. Young people are the biggest drivers of new media and technology and this makes them the ideal vehicle to spread the message on sustainable development goals and human rights
The Varsity Film Expo promotes the growth of digital and cultural economies as enablers for sustainable development. Animation can be effectively used to enhance African cultural expressions. The rise in digital content consumption in Africa indicates a readiness to embrace the seamless integration of new media, arts and culture.
In 2015, the United Nations made up of 195 countries adopted Global Goals, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to change the world and make it better by year 2030. Film and creative digital content can be effectively used to amplify this universal call to action. The Varsity Film Expo 2021 had called on young people to use their creativity and imagination to create short films that promote awareness and motivate action towards the attainment of SDGs.
For more information visit the website.
_________________
Ashraf Aboul Yazid is Egypt’s world known writer, poet, novelist, travelogue writer, Editor-in-Chief at Silk Road Literature Series. He is author of some three dozen books.
