Alain Gomis needs no introduction.
Actor, screenwriter, director, producer… He has received numerous awards, including at Fespaco in 2013 and 2017 for his films Aujourd'hui
and Félicité
, and at the Berlin Film Festival for the film Félicité
(Silver Bear).
Today, he talks to us about his latest challenge: the upcoming opening of a center entirely dedicated to cinema, the Yennenga Center in Dakar.
Can you tell us about the activities of the Yennenga Center?
Currently under construction, the Yennenga Center is a cultural center dedicated to cinema. This project is the result of a year of workshops and activities organized around cinema. Although slowed down by the Covid-19 crisis, we have nevertheless managed to get the project off the ground and get ourselves organized. Today, we have officially announced the upcoming opening of the Yennenga Center, a film post-production and post-production training facility. The project is supported by the City of Dakar. We plan to open in July and begin training in September.
What motivated the launch of such a facility? What are its ambitions?
For several years, I observed my own difficulties in filmmaking and in co-production relationships, mainly with Europe. Many young people on the continent lacked resources, which greatly hindered them in carrying out their film projects, particularly in terms of training.
For films with a certain budget, post-production is often done internationally, in Europe or Canada, and this is expensive. We therefore wanted this post-production activity to be done on the continent.
Our aim is to offer more autonomy and editorial independence to film project leaders on the continent so that a more local cinema can emerge.
How will the training courses be organized?
The first cycle will welcome 25 students over a period of two years, for training in the professions of image editing, sound editing, mixing, and color grading. We will select candidates who are self-taught, who have undergone training, or who have worked in the field.
Beyond training, what other activities will the Yennenga Center offer?
We want to give the Center a "film club" dimension because, beyond making films, it is also important to be able to watch and discuss them. We will also set up mentoring activities to support other projects in the field. We also want to organize activities to raise public awareness of cinema.
In recent years, many films have been made to be shown elsewhere, but cinema can also have an impact locally before considering international screenings.
In terms of funding… Can you count on support from the Senegalese government?
In addition to support from the Dakar City Council, we receive assistance from the state, namely from the DER (Direction de l'Entreprenariat Rapide). Finally, we also receive funding from the AFD
,
which allows us to equip ourselves and finance the first two years of training
,
as this will be free of charge.
Senegal has become a hub for the audiovisual industry. How do you view this dynamic? Can you give us an overview of film production in Senegal?
There is a lot going on in Dakar in terms of cinema. As for audiovisual production, particularly with regard to all the series projects, Senegalese production is very dynamic.
Local production companies inspire us in that some have managed to find a viable economic model on a short circuit with widely distributed projects. In cinema, we are working with very costly production methods and we must try to reduce these costs. For a while, we thought the problem was down to distribution, as movie theaters had gradually closed their doors. Today, theaters are reopening but have no local productions to show. Together, we must therefore find a better balance between the economics of cinema and its context.
Movie theaters in Senegal had to close during the health crisis, but they should reopen soon. Beyond this unprecedented context, the multiplexes that have opened in Senegal cater to a small segment of the population and, what's more, a small segment of the population of Dakar. Due to their location and ticket prices, not everyone has access to the cinema. I believe it is important to rethink the business model. These initiatives certainly contribute to the dynamism of the industry, but at present, cinema does not reach audiences in neighborhoods, different cities, different regions, etc.