HUYE - Plans are underway to set up a modern audio-visual lab at the National University of Rwanda (NUR) to support budding talent in film making, the director of the varsity’s Centre for Instructional Technology has said.

Dr. Evode Mukama, in an interview with The New Times, said that the university has students and teachers with great potential in film making.

He said that funds have been secured to support the development of film production at the country’s oldest and biggest public university.

"With funding from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), we have ordered equipment for our audio-visual laboratory worth about Rwf64million.

To kick-start the film production project, the university has organised a documentary film competition under the theme: "A day in the life of a student and staff at the National University of Rwanda.”

He said that the idea behind the competition is to allow students and teachers to use audio-visual multimedia education in teaching and learning.

"We want to be able to teach film production through allowing students and teachers to reflect on their everyday lives through the documentary competition,” Mukama said.
"The theory behind this competition is that people normally learn better when they can have a look into their own daily lives.”

The competition is followed by a research project made possible by a post doctoral research grant of Rwf15million sponsored by SIDA.

The competition has attracted about 40 entrants who have been divided into eleven groups of 3-4 people. One of the criteria of the competition is that a female student  has to be part of the competing team.

Screening of the documentaries begins on August 1 for public voting; final selection will be held on August 7 at the NUR main auditorium. The winning group will walk away with a cash prize of Rwf0.5million.

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