Senegal: The Kourtrajmé collective opens its first free film school in Africa

Dakar may be the next breeding ground for talented African scriptwriter. At least, that's what Ladj Ly, the French multi-award winning director of "Les Misérables", is betting on. He opened a free film school in Dakar.

The Kourtrajmé collective and its founder, Ladj Ly, the multi-award winning director of "Les Misérables", open their first free film school in Africa in Senegal. The third in less than four years after starting in France. Eleven aspiring scriptwriters have started lessons in an old building that has been converted into a cultural space in the heart of Dakar.

But the school isn’t appealing to Senegalese aspiring scriptwriters for the sole quality of its curricula. Students like Ibrahima Fofana hope to enjoy a strong fellowship there: "I hope to create a family with the other scriptwriters at the end of this training, so that we can always stay together and rely on each other for future projects. So it is the fraternity that the Kourtrajmé school represents that I am looking for and that I am expecting in this Koutrajmé Dakar school." Eleven aspiring scriptwriters have started lessons in the old building that has been converted into a cultural space in the heart of Dakar.

Senegal might not be a one of the biggest African country in the film and audiovisual production industry, but according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO), the country is observing a TV series production boom. The 14 future Kourtrajmé graduates will undoubtedly play their part.

After Montfermeil, Marseille, and Dakar, Ladj Li dreams of opening a news school in Madrid.