Director and producer Toumani Sangaré is the head of the Kourtrajmé film school, founded in Dakar in 2021. It is the very first school in Africa run by the Kourtrajmé collective, of which Toumani is a member, co-founded by Ladj Ly, Romain Gavras, and Kim Chapiron. Since 2017, he has been directing series and feature films on the continent. He is notably behind the series "WARA," "Sakho et Mangane," and "Dimanche à Bamako."
Today, in this interview with Adweknow, he talks about the creation of the Kourtrajmé film school in Dakar.
Can you tell us about your Kourtrajmé film school in Dakar?
After all these years of experience, we wanted to share our expertise and support talented individuals on the African continent in order to facilitate their access to careers in the audiovisual industry. Ladj Ly and I are both Franco-Malian. It's true that we initially wanted to open a school in Mali, but in the end, Senegal seemed like the obvious choice. The context is favorable there, as Senegal is now a leading country in terms of series and film production.
What are the main motivations behind this school project?
Through our school, we want to enable students to train in the image and film professions. We are offering free training that is open to all and accessible to as many people as possible. But our project doesn't stop there, as we also want to contribute to the professionalization of the audiovisual sector.
As producers and directors, we want to do our part to help build an industry that is booming, particularly in Senegal, thanks to series and cinema. There is a need to create more content for television channels, movie theaters, and video-on-demand platforms.
We therefore plan to provide professional training and personal and professional guidance to all our students, with the following educational objectives:
- To provide audiovisual, artistic, and technical training.
- Support each student in developing a professional network.
How are the training courses structured?
The school offers training in screenwriting and another in directing/post-production. These courses combine theoretical classes, practical work, and masterclasses. They are taught by training managers who supervise the students, as well as "technical" trainers, who are film professionals involved in the deployment of projects.
In addition to the courses, we organize meetings between students and industry professionals to facilitate the sharing of skills and the creation of a network. The objectives are to write and produce two short films and a pilot series per year.
What is the profile of the students who enroll in this program?
Our students are on average between 25 and 30 years old. We place a lot of importance on gender parity. That's why we try to select as many women as men. Some are already in the industry and others are enthusiasts.
How do you find funding?
To ensure the sustainability and free access of our model, we rely on a network of partners. It takes time to find the funding to maintain our model and pay the trainers. The projects carried out within the school and then sold to broadcasters should also enable us to generate funding. But that takes time.
Are you thinking of creating synergies with Côte d'Ivoire, for example, another hub for audiovisual production in the sub-region?
That's not on the agenda, even though our courses are open to students from all countries. We'll see how things develop in the future. One of our students is actually involved in a project in Côte d'Ivoire.