Aminata Bockarie, a female Director of Photography, Screen Writer, and Movie Editor, has on Monday March 8, 2021 accredited her expertise to the training she received from the Ballanta Academy of Music.
She made this statement at the Academy’s auditorium, where she also explained that in 2011 she gained admission into the Academy of Performing Arts and Media Studies, saying, “I was fortunate to study screen writing, movie editing and directing of photography.”
She said that after she had enrolled at the Academy over the years, she studied and developed what she had been taught and through self-help and support from WAYout, a Non-governmental organization in the west of Freetown.
“I appreciate what Ballanta has done for me, and I also thank WAYout for polishing my talents. They really changed my story. Staff at Ballanta were all happy to support me. I was given the platform to gain what I wanted as a student. Now I can write a script, shoot and edit a movie all by myself,” she said.
Audience at the auditorium viewed a movie which Bockarie had produced titled: ‘Diana’s Diary’. She wrote the script, edited the movie and directed it.
Her movie portrays the importance of parents caring for their children.
She added: “The movie is about a young lady who died out of shame after her stepfather had continuously raped and impregnated her. Because of the negligence of Diana’s mother, she died out of shame and with the idea that her step-father was sleeping with her. Diana’s mother had not been listening to her complaints.”
Bockarie explained that she usually writes about social problems which people don’t really want to talk about and put on the spotlight.
She said that she has written over four movies that had made it to the national and international markets, saying that recently she was able to direct her first international movie ‘Ray of Hope’ in Ghana.
Bockarie claimed that she has not won any award in Sierra Leone because women are not supported or given recognition in the field of photography by government and other stakeholders.
According to Bockarie, through a movie she produced titled ‘Up in aims’ she bagged the Black International Movie Award in Togo, where ‘Diana’s Diary had also been nominated as best movie.
In her response, Doctor Kitty Fadlu Deen, the Co-founder of the Academy, said, “Aminata was a dancer when she first came to us, very creative and sensitive. She taught dance to the children and then she took a course at Ballanta ‘performing arts and media’… Among her teachers were Ian Noah and Prof Yulisa Amadu Pat Maddy (late). She danced in the Ballanta musical production Jegejekskayama, and also designed and made some of the costumes. She also took filmmaking courses at Way Out, with Mrs. Hazel Chandler; she then went her own way to make films and won awards abroad.”
By Ibrahim S.Bangura
16/03/2021. ISSUE NO: 8021