The School of the Arts Global Programs and Film Program launched an exciting new collaboration with Maisha Film Lab in Uganda, a nonprofit training initiative for emerging East African filmmakers founded by acclaimed director Mira Nair ("Monsoon Wedding," "The Namesake," "Salaam Bombay"). Maisha is headquartered in Kampala and operates several intensive filmmaking labs per year, ranging from one to four weeks and providing hands-on intensive mentoring in screenwriting, directing, producing, cinematography, editing, sound recording and acting.
Alumni and faculty of the Film Program have served as mentors in several Maisha labs. Each year, four advanced screenwriting students from Columbia and four Maisha screenwriters are selected as online mentors to four Maisha screenwriters for the revision of their completed screenplays, working one-on-one via Skype and email. To date, two alumni of the Maisha labs have applied and been admitted as full-time students in the MFA Film Program.
