FILM FOR THOUGHT

If this film never reached you, would you know?

From 2018-2019 I completed my first masters degree, a MA in Media, Communications and Critical Practice (distinction) at the University of the Arts London while serving as the London College of Communication’s post-graduate student ambassador. This role meant that I was tasked with organising networking events to unite postgraduate creatives across the UAL’s six colleges. My first event was a film screening of  The Burial of Kojo, the directional debut of independent filmmaker Samuel Bazawule. An international multi-award winning film— its contours and culture remain untouched by the prestigious art and design school, UAL. The UAL offers 19 post-graduate courses in the field of ‘animation, interactive, film and sound’ such as MA Film, MA Television, MA Screen writing, MA Documentary Film and others. Students in these courses learn about art and motion pictures from the UK and the globe, in order to develop their own unique yet international style of story telling. However their course syllabi do not cover classical nor contemporary African film that has been instrumental to local and global film industries. This made me ask myself, “what are UAL students missing out on as they are not exposed to the most exciting international narratives and cinematography?”.

Based on this experience, I decided to launch a series of film screenings across the UAL and London curating spaces for viewing and conversing with film makers and audience members of classical and contemporary films critical to current affairs. This is how Film for Thought was birthed. Upcoming film screening salons and events will be posted on this page. Please stay tuned.