LBx Africa’s Joan Njeri joined other filmmakers from across the world for this year’s edition of the IDFA Academy in Netherlands from November 9th – 12th.
IDFA Academy is an intensive training program for emerging documentary filmmakers and producers. Taking place every November during IDFA, IDFAcademy gives emerging international filmmakers the opportunity to meet a broad spectrum of highly esteemed documentary professionals willing to share their knowledge of the industry.
Here is a brief statement from Joan about the Academy;
"I am producing my first feature-length documentary which is in its last stages of production and with this I felt the need to immerse myself in documentary spaces in a bid to answer the question, what kind of stories are showcased/selected for festivals? So, when Documentary Africa (DocA) had a callout for the African Delegation to IDFA 2023 (supported by ARC and IBF), it was a no-brainer for me to put in an application. Being in attendance at IDFA gave me an opportunity to watch this year’s film selection which gave me a better understanding on the kind/range of films that make it to the IT/top film festivals. It was a great experience to watch different stories and see how each film’s narrative was structured as well as their choice of artistic approach.
One of my goals as Producer is to work/collaborate with filmmakers beyond Kenya and being part of the African Delegation offered me an opportunity to not only network with Filmmakers within Africa but globally as well. IDFA offered a space where we could get to know each person’s films which gave me a perspective of the stories/film topics that filmmakers are tackling globally as well as an avenue to have conversations of possible avenues of collaboration with both Filmmakers/Creatives and Producers."
One of my goals as Producer is to work/collaborate with filmmakers beyond Kenya and being part of the African Delegation offered me an opportunity to not only network with Filmmakers within Africa but globally as well. IDFA offered a space where we could get to know each person’s films which gave me a perspective of the stories/film topics that filmmakers are tackling globally as well as an avenue to have conversations of possible avenues of collaboration with both Filmmakers/Creatives and Producers."