TWO American film experts have called for both public and private investments in Rwanda’s budding film industry. The experts, Robert Johnson Jr and Patti Bonnet, who were speaking at the end of a one week training in filmmaking, observed that the profession could become a huge success in Rwanda, if it got adequate attention and support. “I must admit that the film industry is complex, but I have seen a lot of talent in Rwanda; filmmakers here are passionate about what they are doing,” Johnson, an associate professor at Framingham State College in Massachusetts, US, noted. He called for financial support to current Rwandan and potential filmmakers through seed funding, saying the internationally acclaimed American film industry needed the support of the US Federal Government to pick up. On his part, Bonnet, a renowned filmmaker, suggested the establishment of a national film commission, which he said, could play a major role in wooing seasoned film producers and investors to Rwanda. Ends
