our mandate

The Burundi Film Center (BFC) was launched in 2007 as a three-part initiative. Our core mission is to develop a regular training center that teaches the principles of filmmaking and helps our students tell uniquely Burundian stories. The second phase is ensure the films we create reach local audiences by touring them around Burundi, at international film festivals, on television, and through online channels. The third phase is to create a film office with a database of locations, crew members, and equipment available in the country to attract foreign productions and help bolster the local film industry.

Burundi is a young nation currently undergoing truth and reconciliation from decades-old conflicts. The absence of a developed media has crippled the nation's ability to operate as a proper democracy and exposed the need for professional journalism and artistic expression through audio-visual storytelling. The BFC is a unique opportunity for Burundian citizens to learn essential 21st century mass communication skills from international filmmakers and documentarians, while engaging those same media experts in African issues.

A film center is best positioned as a society establishment which promotes arts, culture, innovation and technology while facilitating the development and promotion of the industry. As such, it co-ordinates the many demands of film productions and ensures that the industry has the capacity to grow. The office administers film, bursary, and training funds, acts as an interface between the government and the private sector, while translating the ideas from people, writers, researchers, producers, directors and those who provide service support. It is this dedicated team which make films, television programs, advertisements, educational content and provide services to corporate communications that the nation relies on. The film center is an important communication tool that will link the government policy makers to the private sector and foreign institutions, thereby exposing Burundi internationally.