Majoaneng—Academy of Images and Letters is a highly intensive program that provides extensive training and support to young individuals interested in developing their filmmaking craft in Lesotho's non-existent film industry. Our mission is to lay a solid foundation for the birth of cinema in Lesotho by training our own community of visionaries. We believe that our trainees will be our window to the world. Our program is designed to create a community of young and talented individuals who see film as a viable and fulfilling career path. We are dedicated to pushing the boundaries of storytelling and visual expression through this medium. Our trainees will have the opportunity to explore and experiment with the medium, thereby learning as much as possible from their colleagues and mentors.

Just a few months after leaving Lesotho to pursue my MFA in filmmaking at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, I got news that the last cinema in the country closed its doors, with no hope of ever re-opening. It broke my heart. Any remaining flicker of light finally died. A handful of filmmakers—the resilient ones—such as myself would no longer have spaces to exhibit their work. Today, eight years later, there are still no cinemas in Lesotho. It is as though we have been forgotten. It is as though cinema never really had a chance. A handful of those filmmakers who had at one point been resilient, outnumbered against the tide, have chosen to go elsewhere. The question now becomes, “Why do you choose to stay? It is worth it? Is it a fight you can win on your own?” The truth is, I do not necessarily have the answers but I am willing to stay in the country and build something. I will not be building cinemas—the physical buildings, but I am interested in building a more resilient community of young filmmakers as I believe that to be the place where Lesotho’s cinema will reside. We will find a way. Even if it means taking movies on the road through a mobile cinema. Exhibit under the stars in the country’s remote villages. But first we must build a community of people who will make those movies. Armed with just a few basic filmmaking tools such as Dslr cameras, Portable sound recorders, time and a space in my backyard, we will be on our way.