The constant reduction of high standard audiovisual production costs, due to recent technological developments (low cost HD cameras, more affordable and simpler editing software) has created the momentum for an easier dissemination of basic filmmaking skills and tools.

CAMERA MUNDI is born on the conviction that in the long term, cinema can join the group of “Arti Povere” and become accessible to a wider range of people who will use this mean to tell local stories. Whereas in the past only other types of arts (painting, music and literature) could provide the need of storytelling that belongs to each and every community, audiovisual creative forms can nowadays play this role too.

Through the organization of rounds of workshops focused on filmmaking techniques, Camera Mundi intends to address both social and cultural issues, advocating for a better understanding of audiovisual tools as a mean to promote social and cultural values from an independent perspective. Through the improvement of their technical knowledge, young artists foster their critical view while learning innovative ways of tackling social and cultural issues they experience in their daily life.

Through the organization of filmmaking workshops in developing countries, Camera Mundi aims at:
1-Creating the opportunity for filmmaking in countries where the access to infrastructures and to technical and academic knowledge in the field of cinema is limited.
2-Enhancing the personal and professional skills of young motivated men and women that could possibly, in the long run, offer them better professional opportunities.
3-Giving them the mean to advocate for their own societies, raising awareness on social and cultural phenomenon that could ultimately draw the attention of the public.
4-Providing young inspired filmmakers with a visibility platform, by connecting them with the network of international film festivals and independent distributors.

Camera Mundi sets up workshops tailored to students in developing countries and facilitated by a pool of professionals from the industry, with the logistics and organizational help from its local partners.


Our workshops are developed in each country on a basis of 3-4 sessions to be held throughout the year, focusing on various aspects of production. Each session lasts 14 days, welcomes up to 12 participants and is facilitated by a professional from the field. They gives birth to the shooting of one short film, to be screened in the film festivals associated with our initiative.

In September 2012, Camera Mundi has launched its pilot project in Burundi. A comprehensive workshop has been designed that is composed of four sessions, held over a year. Each session welcomes up to 20 participants and is in conformity with our general approach:
- Associating a theoretical introduction to a practical workshop
- Providing individual tutoring sessions
- Resulting in the production of a short film, based on one of the students' screenplays.

Session 1 was held in September 2012 and was curated by Adriano Valerio, Pedagogical coordinator of Camera Mundi.
It resulted in the production of "The Sixth Commandment", a short fiction film awarded at FESTICAB 2013 (Best Editing Award in national competition) that will be screened at Immaginaria Film Festival and MonFimFest 2013 (Italy).

Session 2 will have a focus on screenwriting and will be curated by Adrian Smith (France).The curator will teach the bases of film storytelling, from the building of a storyline and a character, to the writing of dialogues.