In February 2010, I was asked to travel to Nigeria to teach screenwriting as part of an intensive filmmaking course conducted by the New York Film Academy. For the past few years, I have taught screenwriting, producing and directing at NYFA campuses in New York, Los Angeles, and Paris. I’ve instructed students from all over the world, of ages ranging from middle school students to middle aged adults, but this promised to be like no other teaching experience I’d ever had.
In early March, over thirty of us, teachers and staff, traveled to Abuja, the new capital of Nigeria. We were to live in Abuja for thirty days, teaching six different disciplines: Directing, Screenwriting, Acting, Producing, Editing, and 3D Animation. 400 students were expected to attend, and over 103 boxes of equipment were shipped. This wasn’t just a film course: It was a huge undertaking.
I’d been to Nigeria before, but my last visit was over 20 years ago. I was excited to see the new capital of Abuja, find out more about Nollywood, Nigeria’s young but prolific film industry, and be a part of what was basically the first film school ever launched in the country.
We landed in Abuja at 5:30am and were escorted to the Sheraton Hotel, our home for 30 days. The first thing I noticed was our armed escort! Okay, I thought, this is not Lagos, this is Abuja, which is a newly planned city, the seat of government and, from what I’d heard, one of the most secure places in the world. I learned later that our Nigerian hosts, Del-York International, had us insured, so our armed security came with the package.
Next, I noticed the well-paved highways, the well-constructed houses and gated communities, the landscaped neighborhoods, the dusty atmosphere. Abuja is very hot and dry. It is also a wealthy city, inhabited mainly by government officials and petroleum business people, hence the nice homes, planned streets and absence of beggars.
We arrived at the Sheraton, which seemed to be in a perpetual state of reconstruction. Some rooms were renovated; some were not. I managed to get into one of the newer rooms, so my stay was quite comfortable. I noticed a layer of dust on every surface, even on the palm trees lacing the inner courtyard. Despite the daily cleanings from the hotel staff, the dust persisted.
This dust, most of it sand blowing in from the Sahara, became a problem for us. It permeated our classrooms, our equipment, and our sinuses. Our school campus was also under construction and, therefore, was filled with dust as well, despite a cleaning staff having spent two days scouring the place before we arrived.
We held classes at the Public Service Institute of Abuja, a well-designed campus that was built for government workers. Unfortunately for us, the campus had not been completed, and in addition to the dust, our problems extended to minimal air conditioning and power and water shut-downs at 6pm. This became even more of an issue in later weeks of the program when we would stay until 7pm as students edited their projects or finished shooting. But all of these problems diminished on the first day of school, the moment we met our Nigerian students, I realized we were about to experience something really special.
That first day, a group of about two hundred, (about half of the final student body) gathered in a big auditorium. We, the teachers and staff, were on stage. The anticipation and excitement in that room was electric. The students cheered each of us as we introduced ourselves. Soon, we broke into classes according to each discipline.
I co-taught screenwriting with another teacher, Ryan Gibson. Originally, we were supposed to have two rooms but there weren’t enough, so we taught together. We started with about 12 students, but as the weeks went on, more and more students came to the school. We ended up with 24 students in our screenwriting class.
We discovered that many of our students had never seen a Hollywood movie. Some had only basic writing skills, and some had never touched a computer before. But they were the most eager students I’d ever had, they were like sponges. They listened, they learned, they wrote their ideas down. They pitched us their amazing stories, each student having a particular view of the world that was unfamiliar to us. Their stories were fresh, energized, and unique.
In the coming days, we taught our students the basics of the three-act screenplay structure. We watched and analyzed Hollywood, indie and foreign films. We helped them shape their stories into complete synopsis, then outlines. As a group, they had the steepest learning curve I’ve ever seen. Some even completed the first act of their screenplays – an amazing accomplishment in four weeks. They learned from us and we from them.
I felt that by teaching this class, I was being exposed to a vibrant, new cinematic source. I was witnessing a groundswell of new voices, stories and characters being captured onto the moving image. Nollywood is an industry that has wide international DVD distribution and is poised to make its mark on world cinema. I was glad to make my contribution to this renaissance in African cinema and to contribute to these students’ artistic development.
Most of my students had impoverished backgrounds, coming from the southern states of Nigeria. Most had traveled hundreds of miles by bus to attend our school and had full government scholarships. For the majority of them, taking a month away from their daily lives was a personal and economic sacrifice. They were truly grateful to be there, and so was I.
Throughout the month, our Nigerian hosts, Linus Idahosa and Stephanie Okereke, leaders at Del York International, brought media and dignitaries to visit our classrooms. The New York Film Academy Abuja Film School was a news item on national television and in newspapers. I had to be “camera ready” at all times, as every time I stepped out of my classroom, it seemed someone was snapping my picture.
By the end of the course, the appreciation and gratitude these students showered upon us brought us to tears. Literally. On the last day of class, all twenty-four students stood up in front of the room and spontaneously gave us their personal thanks. At that moment, there were no cameras rolling. This was truly heartfelt. I realized we had not just spent that month teaching our students a screenwriting course. In those 30 days, we had touched their lives.
Hopefully, if we repeat and expand this program, I will have another chance to go back to Nigeria. Meanwhile, I look forward to the day when I see my student’s become great screenwriters and great filmmakers and to see their credits roll on the “big screen.”
(The Nigerian film “The Figurine” has just swept the AMAA awards, the African Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. The filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan, is a New York Film Academy/London 2005 alumnus. He is now at Cannes.)
Carol Mayes
Screenwriting Instructor
New York Film Academy
