Last month, the CCP was honored to welcome Nigerian director Femi Odugbemi as he conducted a special filmmaking workshop for CCP participants, staff, and local filmmakers.

Mr. Odugbemi is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and photographer, as well as the Managing Director/CEO of the production company DVWORX Studios Lagos and the Executive Director of the iRepresent Documentary Film Forum. His workshop for the CCP, entitled “Doing More with Less,” took place from December 3-6 at the Sierra Leone National Museum in Freetown. By all accounts, it was a great success! What did participants love about the workshop? First and foremost, Mr. Odugbemi focused his instruction on an issue that is ever-present to young Sierra Leonean filmmakers: how to achieve results with limited resources. A big budget is not the only way to a successful film, Mr. Odugbemi urged his audience, offering advice on financing films in West Africa, using the barter system to trade skills and equipment with other professionals, and creating a synergistic crew from local talent.

The workshop also offered an overview of the entire production process, covering topics from content and storytelling to shot composition, and from lighting and sound to postproduction. In the capstone of the workshop, Mr. Odugbemi guided participants as they developed, shot, and edited their own short documentary. From pre-production to post-production, the participants worked together to produce a film about political, economic, and cultural progress in Sierra Leone, highlighting the recent successful elections and the role of youth in the country’s progress. The video, currently in post-production, is entitled From the Ashes: Story of a New Sierra Leone. The film’s creators hope that it will contribute to ongoing conversations in Sierra Leone about the importance of peaceful and inclusive politics, the future of the country’s economy, and the role of youth and media in Sierra Leone’s ongoing development. The video will be available in 2013 on YouTube and on the CCP Blog, so check back soon!