New Level 1 Students

I’m always amazed when a new batch of students blows through the door.

At the end of each year we celebrate the students with a red carpet film festival—and I think to myself, “It just doesn’t get any better than this.”

Then a student like Gasthon Lewis walks through the door.

Gasthon is not from Kayamandi, he lives 20 minutes drive in a place called the Strand.  His community is similar to Kayamandi—in that poverty and crime are rampant—but Gasthon is by South African definition “colored”.

It’s a strange world where you learn to classify people in such ways—but what it means is that Gasthon speaks Afrikaans and is not from a black tribe like the rest of the new Level One students.

He came to Film School Africa through a friend when Gasthon had attempted a short film in his community, and our common friend knew that I’d be able to point him toward success.

At his interview I was overwhelmed with the feeling that I’m here for young people like Gasthon!

Guys who have the passion and the desire, but lack the tools and training.

A young man who once struggled with drugs and gangs, but now desires to use film in youth ministry.

In the interview he asked me a question that tied our fates together, “Can you come and teach in my community?  My community has never had anything like Film School Africaand people are asking me how can they do this too.”

I told him that we’d do one better—he’s going to be equipped to teach in his community—and I’m going to stand behind him as we continue to touch the lives of students through the power of storytelling.

Please pray for these 12 new students that have entered Level One—for the 5 more that continue onto Level Two—for the 2 students that are running the race in Level Three—and the 2 students that we sent off to City Varsity to spend 3 years in the directing program.

We’re making large strides here thanks to the generosity of people like you—but we’re far from knowing how all the funding is going to come together—but like Gasthon we move forward in faith…together.

Katie Taylor

To support Gasthon and other students like him, donate at threadsafrica.org

"You could start as a second-year student."

We turned and looked at each other—stunned.

You see, Odwa never thought he'd be able to attend school again. Having dropped out at grade 10—so his sister could continue her education—Odwa thought his hopes and dreams of going to school were just that—hopes and dreams.

Never a reality.

But when we sat in the admissions office of City Varsity, a media school in Cape Town, they clearly indicated that the education Odwa had received at Film School Africa was enough to allow them to accept him and he could skip the entire first year.

We were stunned for the moment, and then the reality settled in.

We were thrilled that they thought so much of Odwa's gifts and talents and passion for film—not to mention his desire to return to his community so he could teach others—that they were accepting into the program and crediting him with a year of study.

So if you were stunned and thrilled with those initial comments, can you imagine what we were feeling when they indicated they were giving him a full ride scholarship?

But then the other shoe dropped. (There's always another shoe.) They explained that they had seen it happen many times before—that if Odwa was going to be a successful student, he would need to live in an apartment near campus. Students who early in the morning took the train to school, only to return home to the township late each night, rarely made the necessary grades and quickly washed out of the program.

And at this juncture, the negotiations began.

City Varsity made it known that they were willing to accept Odwa into the program, provide him with a tuition scholarship, and invest heavily in his success as a student. But they had one question.

Would Film School Africa be willing to participate and make it possible for him to live in an apartment near campus?

Now, this is a student I really believe has the talent, ability, and desire to succeed and make a difference in his world. He will thrive in this educational setting and will be forever changed by his experience—much like I was at Taylor University in Indiana.

So this is my question. Will you join City Varsity, and Film School Africa, and me in our commitment to Odwa, and students like him?

Here is the reality. Your monthly or one time gift can make a huge difference in the life of Odwa and others like him. In many ways it sounds too simple to be true, but film is making a significant difference in the lives of Film School Africa students.

Odwa's is a great story. And it is just beginning to unfold.

And this is just the start for so many others. In fact, I have been privileged to witness so many success stories this year. And I'm encouraged by the path that we're taking and the impact that is being had on the lives of African young people.

It's like my younger sister Nana said, "These guys, (Odwa and Ayanda) they never would have known that this is what they wanted, and now their whole lives are changed."

It's true.

Together we continue to shape and change the direction of young lives.

From alcoholism to editing. Thievery to camera work. Lives of hopelessness to lives that glorify God through the art of storytelling.

Pretty exciting stuff!

Film School Africa is about shaping a generation of Africans.

But for this to continue to take place, your prayers and financial support are essential. Whatever your gift might be, $100, $200, maybe even so much more, it will be used to change lives for Christ and revolutionize the way young people think and work.


Katie Taylor
Film School Africa


For giving online go to www.threadsafrica.org. Your monthly or onetime gift will be deeply appreciated. We're going to make sure that Odwa has the opportunity to go to school so he can impact his world.