Lagos Film Lab: Developing the next generation of Nollywood storytellers

“Write every day, line by line, page by page, hour by hour. Do this despite fear. For above all else, beyond imagination and skill, what the world asks of you is courage, courage to risk rejection, ridicule and failure. As you follow the quest for stories told with meaning and beauty, study thoughtfully but write boldly. Then, like the hero of the fable, your dance will dazzle the world.”

― Robert McKee

We spent last week in another one of our intensive story labs as part of the LagosfilmLab program, the whole week was dedicated to working with the scriptwriters and their teams on further developing their stories, their characters, the structure, the themes, outlines etc. 

I’ve watched each and every one of the participants grow as they have gone through rounds and rounds of pitching and feedback sessions with their mentors and guest lecturers, they are learning the frustration that comes with telling, developing and writing a story.

I’ve seen them develop new muscles as they go through the frustrating phase of writing and re-writing their stories, as they have lightbulb moments and try to change their entire story and revert back to the original story. They have spent the last week writing and re-writing, pitching and re-pitching, learning how to work in teams, this process has truly been revelatory to all of us involved, it so important for us to create safe spaces for creators to think, grow, question and support each other, the LagosfilmLab is creating a safe space for the next generation of creators to collaborate and flourish.

Lagos Film Lab is designed to discover and support the development of emerging film talent in Lagos State, we are supporting a cohort of emerging filmmaking teams to develop their first feature films. We started with 150 applications, went down to 15 teams and now we are working with six teams to develop some great and original stories. Our mentors are constantly challenging the participants to be better storytellers, to get closer to the core of their characters, to understand all the” whys” of the story.

It’s been so rewarding to be on this journey with them but to also be part of developing the next generation of storytellers. Biola Alabi Media is grateful to be leading this initiative, a big thank you to our partners, the British Council, the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Creative England, our mentors and our guest speakers. #lagosfilmlab #womeninfilm #creativestorytellling #Nollywood