An Accidental First FeatureWale Oyejides on His Stunning Bravo, Burkina!
Wal\xe9 Oy\xe9jid\xe9 is a director, writer, designer, photographer, musician, and lawyer who uses the power of storytelling to combat bias. His debut feature, Bravo, Burkina!, had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The film is about a Burkinab\xe9 boy who flees his village and migrates to Italy. When later disillusioned by heartbreak, and haunted by memories of home, he travels through time in hope of regaining all he has lost.\n\nIn this episode, No Film School\u2019s GG Hawkins and director Wal\xe9 Oy\xe9jid\xe9, discuss:\n\nNot being rigid about the format you use to tell a story\n\nThinking more about the voice of the filmmaker instead of the budget of the project\n\nChanging the bias people have towards refugees by casting them for his projects\n\nHow naivety can help us make big leaps and take chances\n\nGiving your team time to work together before committing to a larger, more serious project\n\nContributing deeply to the local communities he works with\n\nWhy it takes decades to figure out your voice\n\nAppreciating all the rejections you get\n\n\nMemorable Quotes\n\n\xa0\u201cFinding your voice from the beginning, that\u2019s more precious than any particular tools.\u201d [7:38]\n\n\u201cWe should not be shy about understanding why we are on this planet.\u201d [17:09]\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re doing yourself and the world a disservice by not being your best self.\u201d [49:21]\n\n\u201cIt is better to be quiet than it is to be frivolous.\u201d [52:14]\n\n\n\nMentioned Resources:\nBravo, Burkina! - Presented by Ethical Fashion Initiative & Ikir\xe9 Jones\nStills from the film: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Mjad6OiPQF8Bncp5QauS1JPPcdGicOdf\n\n\nFind No Film School everywhere:\nOn the Web\nhttps://nofilmschool.com/\n\nFacebook\xa0\nhttps://www.facebook.com/nofilmschool\n\nTwitter\xa0\nhttps://twitter.com/nofilmschool\n\nYouTube\xa0\nhttps://www.youtube.com/user/nofilmschool\n\nInstagram\nhttps://www.instagram.com/nofilmschool\n\nSend us an email with questions or feedback: podcast@nofilmschool.com!\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices