Visual Storytelling at Your Fingertips

For decades, the film making industry was dominated by professional filmmakers with big budgets and top-of-the-range gear. Consequently, it remained desperately out of reach for most amateurs lacking adequate funding and equipment to produce quality films. This changed with the rise of smartphone technology which presented a unique opportunity for amateur filmmakers to produce top quality films on incredibly low budgets. One of the first of these films to garner significant international attention was the critically acclaimed, Tangerine. The film scooped up numerous awards during its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015 where viewers were stunned to learn the film was shot entirely using three iPhone 5s smartphones.

Smartphone cinematography is widely regarded as the future of filmmaking and offers a platform for amateur filmmakers with limited budgets to showcase their creativity and talents. In this way, it opens up the exclusive world of filmmaking to anyone with a story and access to a device. Africa is rich in compelling stories but lacks the knowledge and resources to produce films that are made by Africans for Africans. Upskilling individuals in smartphone filmmaking presents an exciting opportunity for these stories to be told in an authentic way while also helping to bridge the Digital Divide and unlocking new economic opportunities.

The CWBR recognises the significant potential this emerging industry may have on creating skills development opportunities within the informal economy that supports livelihoods for the most marginalized within the CWBR.

The CWBR and USIKO have partnered with MOJO Cape Town as part of the Mobile Minds Project. Six CWBR team members as well as six USIKO Stellenbosch team members are currently completing a mobile journalism (MOJO) course led by the organisations Creative Director, Dominique Vandenhoudt. The aim, to run a train-the-trainer programme in mobile phone film making. These trainers will go on to support others in the CWBR’s network of community partners to identify, document and share the local knowledge and skills within their respective communities. To also excite and foster understanding and positive use of mobile phones in youth to tell their own stories through visual story telling.

Participation in the MOJO Course, as part of the collaboration between CWBR and USIKO to equip facilitators with the necessary skills and knowledge to train others in mobile journalism, was made possible by the US Consulate who funded this initiative.

The MOJO Course team