FOR A LONG TIME, screenwriters have haboured millions of stories but have not been able to share with the world due to limited resources to produce films that meet the international standards. It was a sigh of relief, however, when Hapa Media and Rwanda screenwriters Association jointly launched ‘VugAfrica.rw’, Rwanda’s very first online market initiative for producers and investors purchase the best of African movie ideas, scripts and screenplays from professional storytellers and screenwriters across Africa. The platform was introduced to empower African screenwriters to break out and be able to sell their screenplays to the producers so that they can financially nurture their careers. According to Aaron Niyomwungeri, the brains behind the platform, screenwriters will no longer need to archive their stories as long as the platform was developed to not only link them with potential producers but also keep their scripts safe and protected as per the intellectual property law. “By putting their scripts on this platform, screenwriters can be assured that their stories remain original and protected. We can have plenty of interesting scripts that can impress producers to purchase,” Niyomwungeri said. Aaron Niyomwungeri, the brains behind the platform “I believe we have so many stories yet the market has been a big issue for so many years. I would love to see fellow screenwriters bringing them to this platform so that they can benefit from their creative skills,” he added. The platform, available on vugafrica.rw, is developed in a way that each screenwriter creates their own account in which all their scripts can be posted alongside the price of each script. VugAfrica engages visionary screenwriters by giving them a platform to tell their stories through scripts as well as enhancing the world of cinema by bringing new and untold stories to the worldwide discourse. It is also expected to build up the roots of a self-sustaining screenwriting career and film industry in Rwanda and Africa at large. Potential producers will be allowed to visit the platform and select scripts that impress them most before proceeding with payments. To visit the scripts, some charges will be recommended for producers to access a given story from its synopsis to the long line. Once the producer likes an idea of a certain script and wants to proceed with the payments, the platform’s administrator (admin) will link him with the screenwriter for them to negotiate the price of the script. Niyomwungeri said many screenwriters mix their job with film production and directing because they struggle to make a living out of writing scripts alone. He said that they can now focus on screenwriting as chances to get the market for their stories through Vugafrica prove to be promising. “I know the struggles screenwriters face because I am one of them. We can write scripts but we struggle to find producers who can buy them and that is the reason why we developed this platform to create a marketplace for our works,” Niyomwungeri said. Jones Kennedy Mazimpaka is one of Rwanda’s established screenwriters who has been in the filmmaking industry for the past two decades. He hailed the platform’s potential to link screenwriters to producers, describing it as a financial boost for screenwriters not only in Rwanda but also in Africa since African filmmakers can also post their scripts on the platform. “It’s a good idea. Not every screenwriter can produce a film. Some of us have so many stories that go to waste because we lack funding to turn them into films. But if the platform can help us reach potential producers and investors, then it would be a huge boost for screenwriters,” Mazimpaka told The New Times. He, however, suggested some changes should be made to the platform to ensure their stories are more protected and fully entitled with copyrights. VugAfrica, is one of the projects that benefited from the Creative Industry Recovery Fund provided last year by Imbuto Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Culture.
