Studying a Writing Degree at a Film School. (In South Africa)

Bachelor of Creative Writing was introduced at AFDA round about the years 2020 & 2021 and I was part of the group of AFDA’s very first BCW First Years. There was no second or third years as of yet because it was something new introduced at the institution and what started of as just a small group became more and more as the years went by.

I knew it was what I wanted to do despite everyone seeming to be against it and the 18-year-old me had never been that excited. Writing had always been a passion of mine, from a very young age and it felt surreal to simply just study something I wholeheartedly loved.

Many promises were made, we had our own expectations as students - some of which were never delivered, some of which turned out to be slightly better but I’ll discuss all of that at a later stage. This article simply looks at my experience at AFDA and all that I’ve learnt from being in the college.

WHAT IT IS

Before BCW was introduced at AFDA, the only writing you could really do at AFDA was part of Motion Picture (screenwriting). I stand to be corrected but this is what I’ve gathered from people that studied/ are studying Motion Picture at the college.

Creative Writing was introduced to be broader than just screenwriting in the sense that it went into playwriting, documentary writing, news & article writing/ promotional writing etc. It was introduced to cater to most types of writing and whether this is how it actually is/was is something debatable to many but most BCW students had their fare share of complaints.

PROS & CONS

This list includes opinions other students had through discussions as well as my own opinions of the challenges and happy moments.

PROS -

1.) Not writing exams/ tests at the college is a big yay.

AFDA is a very practical institution at its best which I think makes sense because filmmaking is practical It really is extremely different to Universities like Wits/ UJ as it’s a highly creative school and environment. Most of what we do is projects or assignments that consist of creating films, series or documentaries etc. and although people from the outside might think that AFDA kids have it easy (we don’t have it as hard as they do though) It’s not as easy as most people think. (This will be elaborated by the cons section)

2.) You get to do exactly what you came for.

Studying writing in Universities like Wits/ Uj is very theoretical/ theory based and there’s nothing essentially wrong with that however, some people would like to skip learning anything more about Shakespeare like they didn’t spend their whole high school writing essays about his plays and just really get straight into what really matters.

This is honestly a preference thing. I personally see little value in learning anything new about Shakespeare because if facts are faced - the film industry is really about connections (who knows who) and selling your script/ working with a production company as a writer has nothing at all to do with the theory based learning. Although, I agree - the learning does have value. It is really just up to you.

Writing in institutions like AFDA means there aren’t any extra subjects that you might believe have nothing to do with what you want to do.

Wanna be a future Director? You will Direct.

Wanna be a future Writer? You will write.

3.) Meeting People in the Film Industry.

AFDA tends to bless it’s students here and there with random classes with actual film industry people. In the year 2022, BONGA PERCY VILAKAZI, a SAFTA winning, nominated Writer and Producer came to AFDA with his colleagues. This was very exciting and insightful. As someone who watches The River - a South African telenovela in which he works as a scriptwriter and creative producer for, I was beyond delighted and it’s definitely something I’m still so grateful for to this day.

4.) AFDA has given birth to so many stars.

The AFDA Alumni Celebrity list is actually shocking. If you just scroll through AFDA’s Instagram page, you’ll see the familiar celebrity faces of people that have made it in the film industry or are on their way up.

I consider this a Pro because it says something about the college. Maybe it’s a luck charm every upcoming celeb leaves behind so other people can become celebs in the film industry too, lol. I don’t know what it is precisely but it says something.

And as for me? Oh, I’m definitely picking up that luck charm!

5.) FILM FESTIVALS!!

AFDA really goes all out for it’s film festivals which is very exciting. Film festivals are basically an opportunity for students to showcase their work. I think all film tickets are sold at R30 (from what I remember) and this is super affordable. Parents, graduates, people in the film industry trying to find employees usually come to these festivals and I really think that’s what makes it EXTRA exciting.

CONS -

1.) Group Work is insane. (How BCW was dragged into the mess)

Motion Picture students strictly work as group which makes sense as filmmaking consists of a crew being evident. Most of the time Creative Writing Students and well as Business/BCom students are solo workers.

I believe Motion Picture students have it the hardest because they have to constantly work in a group/ crew and some people might think that this makes one’s work easier but it actually doesn’t. Working solo is one hundred percent less stressful than working in a group where each person has a specific role and task - and if that particular person doesn’t fulfill his/her’s own role or tasks, the crew’s project can become one big nightmare.

As Creative Writing Students, we’ve witnessed this from afar, up close and experienced it first hand. In our second year of study, we were placed in crews with Motion Picture students and labeled as the Script Supervisor of the particular script in the crew. These weren’t scripts we wrote but were scripts screenwriters in Motion Picture wrote. This was our very first interaction with Motion Picture students and our first time learning the dynamics of a crew. This had its challenges but simply being a Script Supervisor in a crew of a story or concept that wasn’t even yours was NOTHING compared to pitching your own story to be made by Motion picture students only for your own story to be adapted however without acknowledging/ including you as the creator of the story. This was known as the BCW and Motion Picture Integration.

This was a very messy and exhausting time of being a BCW student at AFDA. This is when we really understood what it meant to be working in a crew in which your own story was being made for screen. This is when we learnt why most adaptations in the film industry received backlash seeing as a the writer’s voice/the original heartfelt story is often lost through adaptations or simply selling the script.

This is when we learnt that being a writer in the film industry is NO JOKE. You will get stepped on, spat on, whatever on because that’s just how it’s always been.

And what I personally disliked about the whole integration was simply the lack of planning/ really explaining stuff clearly to students. There was a lot of miscommunication not just among students but staff as well and it was just one big mess.

But things would probably get better since the interaction was still very new.

2.) AFDA does not have a set curriculum

So, for most people, this is kind of crazy. You know how in universities, you usually know what’s happening months from now - what you’ll be learning, what tests you’ll be studying etc. There isn’t much of that at AFDA.

Even when you are told what’s happening months from now, it’s a possibility and things can change. There is no set ‘written on paper’ curriculum in which you are sure of things happening months from now and can prepare. This was requested by students and maybe it will be implemented but no one knows for sure.

WHY I PICKED IT

I pretty much ask myself this question almost all the time. And every time I come up with the same answer.

I wanted to do something I love. Something I knew I REALLY love and writing was the answer.

Creative Writing at AFDA could be better and I hope they plan on making it better. I loved the fact that it was introduced as a broader spectrum of writing and personally, I feel like it would be great if they would re-consider that because at the moment it feels like eighty percent of what we’re doing is screenwriting and not spending equal amounts of time in different types of creative writing or at least majoring in specific types of writing as the years progress.

IS IT WORTH IT?

Personally, creative writing is definitely worth it!

Creative Writing at AFDA though? I’m not sure. Maybe as the years progress, they will implement changes that need to be implemented in terms of BCW but as for now - I think the best shot considering Motion Picture at AFDA or look at other institutions/ schools not just in the country.

The pros above were however more the cons so you could have the time of your life at AFDA.

ARE THERE ANY BETTER OPTIONS OR NOT?

Within South Africa - your best shot besides Creative Writing at AFDA could be at universities like Wits/ Uj, that’s if you’ll be okay with all the theory.

I think other countries have wonderful Creative Writing opportunities and schools.