海角大神

On a dusty Monday afternoon, the hallways of the Kourtrajm茅 film school buzz with nervous chatter and excitement.聽

It is pitch day, and soon everyone files into a classroom to listen to the students present their screenplay ideas.

The topics cover a wide sweep of Senegalese life, from the story of a 19th-century slave insurrection to a supernatural drama about a woman who can read people鈥檚 thoughts.

When Leida Ndiaye鈥檚 turn comes, she is sweating. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hot in here,鈥� she jokes; the thermostat is blinking 67 degrees Fahrenheit. But soon, she finds her rhythm, describing her idea for a rom-com about a woman in her early 30s who uses her job in human resources to 鈥渋nterview鈥� prospective dates to her birthday party. Ms. Ndiaye explains that she wants to provoke new conversations about dating and marriage.

鈥淎 lot of financially independent women are living the same situation here in Senegal,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he tension between her professional life and her chaotic emotional life leads her to a deep introspection on her true desires and the nature of love.鈥�

Ms. Ndiaye and her classmates at Kourtrajm茅 are part of a new generation of Senegalese filmmakers who are setting out to tell their own stories on their own terms. With a film about Senegalese migrants, 鈥淚o Capitano,鈥� up for best foreign film at the Oscars on Sunday, they know the world is eager to hear about their lives.聽

But Io Capitano鈥檚 success also highlights the challenges they face. The movie was made by Italian filmmakers, igniting conversation about what types of stories get told about Africa and by whom.聽

鈥淭he Italian film is amazing, but it鈥檚 another story about migration,鈥� says Emma Sangar茅, an American producer and screenwriter, and Kourtrajm茅鈥檚 co-founder.

For her students, she adds, there is so much more to say.

鈥淎ll that the cinema world needs鈥�

Kourtrajm茅鈥檚 popularity is a testament to hunger of young Africans to showcase a different kind of story. The school, which opened in 2022, gets hundreds of applications from all over the continent for about two dozen spots in its screenwriting and directing courses. Both six-month programs are fully funded.聽聽

The Dakar school is the third branch of Kourtrajm茅, which French director Ladj Ly started in 2018 in a disadvantaged suburb of Paris in order to bring new and different voices into the film industry. Senegal鈥檚聽Kourtrajm茅 was founded by Mr. Ly, Ms. Sangar茅, and her husband,聽French Malian director Toumani Sangar茅.

For Racine Fall, a current student, the experience of studying at Kourtrajm茅 has given him belief in the Senegalese film industry.

鈥淲e have amazing ideas; we have very good screenwriters; we have good directors,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e have all that the cinema world needs.鈥�

Last year, 鈥淏anel & Adama,鈥� a magical realist romantic drama by French Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy, premiered to positive reviews at the Cannes film festival. But for many Senegalese filmmakers, a lack of resources and connections still makes the global film circuit hard to break into.

鈥淚o Capitano,鈥� for instance, had budget of more than $8 million, allowing filmmakers to shoot in three countries: Senegal, Morocco, and Italy. That kind of money could transform Senegal鈥檚 entire movie industry, Ms. Sangar茅 says.

But getting funding like that often means turning to American or European producers. In these situations, Ms. Sangar茅 says the power dynamic makes it hard for young Senegalese filmmakers to assert their authority about the kinds of stories they want to tell.

鈥淸The students] think that they have to write those kinds of stories ... where we often see Africa poor and miserable,鈥� she says. 鈥淗ow can you be independent in your narration and your stories if the ... money and the producers are not from [here]?鈥澛�

鈥淲hy not us?鈥�

Mariama Niang is in director mode, supervising her team as it prepares to shoot an interview for her documentary, 鈥淓lle,鈥� on a recent afternoon.

On a sun-filled Dakar rooftop, she moves with authority between the audio engineer, who is setting up the microphones, and the makeup artist, who is dabbing foundation on the interviewee鈥檚 forehead. Her assistant director waves her over to approve the framing of the next shot. All the while, she chats away with the woman being interviewed, putting her at ease.

For Ms. Niang, an alumnus of Kourtrajm茅 who has wanted to be a filmmaker since she was a child, this moment has been a long time coming.

鈥淐inema is the world,鈥� she says. 鈥淚n cinema, you can see everything. You can see one movie, and you see all your life in that movie.鈥�

鈥淓lle,鈥� whose title means 鈥渟he,鈥� follows five Senegalese women who have made names for themselves in their respective industries 鈥� from photography to financial consulting 鈥� while challenging the common narrative here that women are 鈥渏ust鈥� homemakers and childbearers. It鈥檚 a contentious topic that Ms. Niang has wanted to tackle for years, but she couldn鈥檛 figure out how to pay for it.

Kourtrajm茅 changed that. The film school funded half the production, and Ms. Niang used the pitch skills she honed there to convince a private investor to pay for the rest.

Back at Kourtrajm茅, Ms. Ndiaye wraps up her own pitch for her rom-com to thunderous applause. Ms. Sangar茅 says these pitch days are central to the school鈥檚 curriculum because they ensure that young filmmakers have the confidence to approach potential funders. Ms. Ndiaye agrees.

鈥淚t鈥檚 better to tell our own story because if you don鈥檛 do it, people won鈥檛 know what exactly African people are living,鈥� she explains after her presentation. 鈥淲esterners are doing it; they share their history; they share their culture. Why not us?鈥�