Alain Gomis Creates a Center for Cinema in Senegal

Yennenga Center in Dakar, Senegal

When Alain Gomis visited Harvard in the spring of 2018 as a recipient of the McMillan-Stewart Fellowship, he shared his dream of creating a hub for cinema in Dakar, Senegal. We are delighted to share that not only has the award-winning filmmaker established the Yennenga Center the first cultural center dedicated to cinema in Senegal, Gomis is also planning an ambitious educational program to train future filmmakers at the center.

The new educational program begins this spring and will train twenty-four young African artists through a two-year program, which aims to prepare, free of charge, these artists with film production skills, including cinematography, editing, color grading, sound editing, and sound mixing. In the first years, the curriculum is implemented within a partnership with the National School of Cinema of Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (France).

To help build this new initiative, Yennenga Center is currently seeking funding through a crowdfunding campaign that ends on March 30, 2021.

The Yennenga Center partners with local associations, national and international festivals, and film libraries to make African and world film heritage accessible to a community of filmmakers, local residents, and movie lovers. The center offers cultural activities, projections, discussions, exhibitions, workshops, a post-production studio, and equipment rental.

The FSC wishes Mr. Gomis and the Yennenga Center community much success in their filmmaking endeavors!