WFG RATING: A

A Travelight production. Produced, cinematography, editing and directed by Nathan Pfaff. 

Stars Katie Taylor, Marie Midcalf, Thando Dyantyi, Gasthon Lewis, TK Shikwambana, Repro Mpitsa, Duwayne Williams, and Juan van der Walt. 

A Hollywood casting agent decides to give impoverished people a dream in this riveting documentary.

Katie Taylor is a former Hollywood casting agent who while on a trip to South Africa met someone who called themselves a filmmaker, and yet they had no experience. Taylor decided to bring some laptops and some cameras and meet with impoverished youngsters from the area and this would be the foundation of what would be known as Film School Africa. 

In an area where there is poverty, drug use, and crime, she has one intention: to make the dreams of aspiring filmmakers come through. Through footage and interviews with former and current students, Film School Africa remains one of the foundations of arts in South Africa. This is how it began and how it continues to strive today.

Narrated by founder Taylor, we get to see some fascinating footage of students, who talk about their aspirations and dreams and what they hope to achieve through the medium of film. A graduation ceremony doubles as a film festival with the graduating students showing their films. Taylor had started the school as a project in 2008, but after a permanent move in 2010, established FSA. She meets with former students who have gone on to successful careers in the world. In the case of student Gasthon Lewis, he himself has become a teacher to a new generation of aspiring filmmakers. Gaston was the first Coloured student of the school, which at the time consisted mainly of Xhosa and Zulu people. This led to Katie opening another school in Strand. 

What is fascinating is that the films the FSA students make are actually based on their personal lives and their experiences in the impoverished areas of South Africa. For instance, Duwayne Williams’ film is about the effects of alcohol within the family with his father explaining that he was once an alcoholic and even his mother was surprised at how Duwayne felt as a child going through the experience and making it as a film. 

While the school was founded in Kayamandi, there are two other schools in Strand and Pneumatix in the Somerset West area of Cape Town. In the latter, we are introduced to students TK, Repro, and Juan, who is one of the first Afrikaner students of the school. Katie praises Juan for his attitude and ability to adapt and learn cinematography. It is fascinating to see these aspiring filmmakers live out their dreams from someone who once knew the Hollywood system and bringing her experiences to a whole new world.

It is definitely worth checking out Film School Africa if you are into documentaries about film. To see the dreams of these youngsters go from poverty to succeeding in life is an underdog tale like no other that will warm your heart in more ways than one.

For more information on Film School Africa, go to the official website of the school at FilmSchoolAfrica.org