The management of the KWETU Film Institute in collaboration with the Rwanda Film Festival is pleased to announce the names of delegates coming to Rwanda.

Stephanie Allain began her career as a script reader and story analyst for 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures. While working at Columbia, Allain was promoted to Senior Vice President of Production, the highest position ever held by an African American at the studio. Allain soon developed a reputation for making independent-style films within the studio system, helping to launch the careers of John Singleton (“Boyz N the Hood,” 1991) and Robert Rodriguez (“El Mariachi,” 1992). After a brief stint as President of Jim Henson Pictures, Allain founded her own company, Homegrown Pictures. Teaming with John Singleton, they produced Craig Brewer’s “Hustle & Flow” (2005), which was nominated for two Academy Awards, taking home an Oscar for Best Original Song. Allain’s other producing credits include “Black Snake Moan” (2006), “Something New” (2006), “Hurricane Season” (2009) and the upcoming “We the Peeples,” alongside Tyler Perry.
She will conduct editing classes

Inspired by the films of the French New Wave, JOHN BAILEY pursued a degree at the USC School of Cinema-Television. He worked as a camera operator under such notable cinematographers as Nestor Almendros, Charles Rosher Jr. and Vilmos Zsigmond before his breakthrough in 1980, when he served as director of photography on both “American Gigolo” and the Best Picture Oscar® winner “Ordinary People”.  Bailey’s other credits include “The Big Chill” (1983), “Silverado” (1985), “The Accidental Tourist” (1988), “In the Line of Fire” (1993), “Groundhog Day” (1993), “As Good as It Gets” (1997), “The Kid Stays in the Picture” (2002) and “Country Strong” (2010).  His next film is “Everybody Loves Whales,” due out in 2022 .  Bailey writes a blog for the American Society of Cinematographers, where he has been a member since 1985. Bailey currently serves as an Academy governor representing the Cinematographers Branch.

Seven-time Academy Award nominee and two-time Oscar winner for sound Willie Burton has had a pioneering, prolific and genre-spanning career. Burton studied electronic technology and engineering, which lead to a job working on sonar systems for the Department of the Navy.  In 1969, he became the first African American to be accepted into the International Sound Technicians union. He was nominated for sound for “The Buddy Holly Story” (1978), “Altered States” (1980), “War Games” (1983), “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994), “The Green Mile” (1999), and he took home Oscars for “Bird” (1988, the first African American winner for Best Sound) and “Dreamgirls” (2006). Other titles include “Car Wash” (1976), “The China Syndrome” (1979), “Urban Cowboy” (1980), “The Color Purple” (1985), “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989), “Sneakers” (1992), “In the Line of Fire” (1993), “The Bridges of Madison County” (1995), “Se7en” (1995), “Beloved” (1998), “Antwone Fisher” (2002), “Jarhead” (2005), “The Great Debaters” (2007), “The Kingdom” (2007), the upcoming “The Help,” due out in August 2022 and “A Thousand Words” (2022 ), starring Eddie Murphy.

Born in Philadelphia, Lee Daniels left college after two years to pursue a film career in Los Angeles.  After founding a successful nursing agency, Daniels sold it to fund his return to filmmaking. Daniels soon became a casting director, manager and created his own production company, Lee Daniels Entertainment.  His breakthrough producing project was “Monster’s Ball” (2001), the film for which Halle Berry became the first African-American to receive a Best Leading Actress Oscar; Daniels earned the distinction of becoming the first African-American sole producer of an Academy Award winning film.  Other producing titles include “The Woodsman” (2004), Daniels’ directorial debut “Shadowboxer” (2005), “Tennessee” (2008) and “Precious” (2009).  “Precious” went on to earn six Academy Award nominations, including two for Daniels for directing and best picture of the year; Mo’Nique took home an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. Daniels’ upcoming directing projects include “The Paperboy” (which he will also produce) and “Selma,” a look at the civil rights marches in Alabama in the 1960’s.

Over her 30-year career, editor CAROL LITTLETON has amassed more than 30 feature film credits across multiple genres and earned an Academy Award nomination for her work on “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial” (1982). Littleton’s diverse body of work includes “Places in the Heart” (1984), “Swimming to Cambodia” (1987), “Benny & Joon” (1993), “Beloved” (1998), “The Manchurian Candidate” (2004), “The Other Boleyn Girl” (2008), “Country Strong” (2010) and the upcoming “The Rum Diary,” due out in October 2022 . She has enjoyed two notable long-term collaborations – with director Lawrence Kasdan, for whom she has edited nine films, including “Body Heat” (1981), “The Big Chill” (1983), “Silverado” (1985), “The Accidental Tourist” (1988), “Wyatt Earp” (1994) and “Darling Companion” (2022 ); and with cinematographer John Bailey, her husband, for whom she edited “China Moon” (1994), his directorial debut.  In 1987 Littleton was elected president of the Editors Guild, serving two terms.  She also served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts for six years, representing the Editors Branch.

Governor of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, representing the Writers Branch, trustee of the Academy Foundation and Chairman of the Academy’s International Outreach Committee, PHIL ALDEN ROBINSON has worn many hats for the organization. After writing the Steve Martin comedy “All of Me” (1984), Robinson combined his writing and directing talents on the comedy “In the Mood” (1987).  His next writer-director effort, “Field of Dreams” (1989), earned three Oscar nominations, including Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.  He went on to co-write and direct “Sneakers” (1992) and the TV movie “Freedom Song” (2000), about the Civil Rights Movement.  His other directing credits include Part One of the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” (2001) and the feature “The Sum of All Fears” (2002).  In 1994 Robinson received the Writers Guild’s Valentine Davies Award for contributions to the entertainment industry and the community-at-large.  As part of his work on the Academy’s International Outreach Committee, Robinson has traveled with previous delegations to Vietnam and Iran.

Production designer Wynn Thomas started working in theatres as a teenager growing up in Philadelphia. Upon graduation from Boston University, Thomas went to New York where he was a production designer for the Public Theatre and the Negro Ensemble Company before transitioning into film production. Thomas apprenticed under production designer Patrizia von Brandenstein (Academy Award winner for “Amadeus,” 1984) before starting a longtime collaborator with director Spike Lee. Thomas and Lee have worked together for over 20 years, on projects including “She’s Gotta Have It” (1986), “Do the Right Thing” (1989), “Mo’ Better Blues” (1990), “Malcolm X” (1992) and “Inside Man” (2006). Other credits include Robert De Niro’s directorial debut “A Bronx Tale” (1993), “To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar” (1995), Tim Burton’s “Mars Attacks!” (1996), “Wag the Dog” (1997), “Analyze This” (1999), Ron Howard’s “A Beautiful Mind” (2001) and “Cinderella Man” (2005), “Get Smart” (2008), “All Good Things” (2010) and the upcoming “The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” currently in post-production.

ALFRE WOODARD made her film debut in Alan Rudolph’s “Remember My Name” (1978) and went on to appear in Robert Altman’s “HealtH” (1980) and Martin Ritt’s “Cross Creek” (1983), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.  Other films include “Scrooged” (1988), “Miss Firecracker” (1989), “Grand Canyon” (1991), John Sayles’ “Passion Fish” (1992), Morgan Freeman’s South African drama “Bopha!” (1993), “Crooklyn” (1994), “Star Trek: First Contact” (1996), “Primal Fear” (1996), Maya Angelou’s “Down In The Delta” (1998), “Mumford” (1999) and “Love & Basketball” (2000).  Woodard’s work on television has garnered the actress five Emmy Awards®.  Additional feature credits include “Beauty Shop” (2005), “Take the Lead” and “Something New” (both 2006), “American Violet” (2008) and Tyler Perry’s “The Family That Preys” (2008). Woodard recently completed the first season of her new television show “Memphis Beat” on TNT.  Woodard serves on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the National Film Preservation Foundation Board and co-founded Artists for a New South Africa.  As part of her work on the Academy’s International Outreach Committee, Woodard previously traveled with the delegation to Iran.

Ellen M. Harrington is the Director of Exhibitions, Special Events and International Outreach for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  During her seventeen years in this position she has organized and designed the installations for over seventy exhibitions, which have been installed in the Academy’s Galleries in Beverly Hills.  Numerous exhibitions have travelled to museums and film festivals in North America, Europe and Asia.  She has produced hundreds of special screening events incorporating key anniversaries of significant films, premieres of film restorations, cast and filmmaker reunions, and screenings and lectures presented in conjunction with gallery exhibitions.  Harrington developed and directs the Academy’s International Outreach Project, and organized its first initiative in 2007, a visiting artist program and film festival in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  A second outreach trip to Iran in March of 2009 resulted in the Academy subsequently hosting a dozen Iranian filmmakers in Los Angeles for industry meetings, film screenings and professional training opportunities.  The latest initiative saw the Academy partnering with the Los Angeles Film Festival to bring a group of filmmakers and an exhibition to the Havana Film Festival in Cuba, with follow-up programs in Los Angeles this summer.

The July workshop to be conducted by filmmakers from Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences will take place during the following days;

Day ONE: Monday 18th July, 2022 .

Day TWO: Tuesday 19th July, 2022

Day THREE: Friday 22nd July, 2022

Registration is almost complete and the names of 30 successful participants will go public on 10th July, 2022 . Registration is 20.000rwf. Register early to avoid disappointments.

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