The KWETU Film Institute (KFI) is intended to be a center of academic excellence for exploring new kinds of communication, cultural expression, and regional civic engagement. Through cinematic education and training, including programs in film, television and mobile, as well as supporting programs in the performing arts, KFI will provide East Africa with a holistic, sustainable and internationally recognized media training facility.

Starting in 2011 and for the next five years, KFI expects to enroll approximately two thousand students who will be exposed to all the important aspects of cinematic media creation. With practitioner instructors, experts in various fields of media, KFI will offer professional, hands on media training programs founded upon on solid academic criterion.

The two key overarching goals of KFI are firstly to focus on developing the media literacy skills of individual participants and secondly to contribute to the cultural and economic cohesiveness of the East African Community of the five nations of Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda.

Goal number one is to prepare individual participants to compete and succeed in the 21st century global economy. In today's globalized, digitalized world, media is a key driver. KFI students will develop the core competencies to become media literate - to not only understand the effects and power of media, but to also develop the skill-sets to create and use cinematic media in all its forms. Trained as storytellers at KFI, KFI graduates, using visual media as their tools, will have the opportunity to contribute real world value to virtually every field in the global economy.

The second goal of KFI is to have a program designed for students to actively participate in trans-media filmmaking by sharing in the production and of content across the media spectrum, which reflects the multi-cultural landscape of East Africa. The KFI learning space will be one where individuals can pool knowledge and work together in active participation, on-the-ground and on-line, in on-going transnational conversations across diverse cultures.

Through peer-to-peer collaboration and faculty mentorship, KFI participants learn that each of their contributions matter and that each act of creation is an act of individual identity making as well as of community building. The members of the KFI student body comprised of students from across East Africa and beyond, share their training experiences and become the alumni of tomorrow. As media professionals, trained together, they will more than likely collaborate throughout their professional careers. In doing so, KFI graduates further enhance the socio-cultural integration of the East African Community by promoting the growth of the cultural industries of East Africa and positioning themselves and East Africa to more effectively compete in the international marketplace.


Admission
Admission requirement(s):
An Advanced Secondary School Certificate or an equivalent qualification

The following interests, subjects and hobbies are recommended and will be used for admission purposes
* Art
* Computer Studies
* Drama
* Mathematics
* Music and Science

Selection criteria:
* Admission is subject to selection, and interview

Minimum duration for Diploma:
* Two years.

Presentation and campus:
* KWETU Film Institute - Kigali, Gaculiro (day classes).

Intake for the course:
* September only.

Eric Kabera is the founder of the KWETU Film Institute.