For all those who love the idea of global travel and filming combined into one unique offering, then the Nomadic Filmland Academy has a great proposition. Entrepreneur Chaymaa Rhou and her film expert colleagues are providing the opportunity for travellers to experience not only fascinating trips to new places, but also the chance to record a film of their travels at the same time.
LoA found out more about this highly unique and fascinating business this month and its aspirations for the future.
What does your company do?
Nomadic Filmland Academy is a new filmmaking platform dedicated for world nomads. Our mission is to help our participants experience adventure while filming it to share it with the world. Our network of film experts trained various participants in Morocco in filmmaking. We've also organized a film screening in Brazil last May, and a debate as well. Our services also include event management, video production, advertising, press coverage..etc
"Our mission is to help our participants experience adventure while filming it to share it with the world."
What inspired you to start your company?
After holding degrees in Visual anthropology and Media studies, beside a wildlife filmmaking certificate, and traveling 23 countries until now, I've felt inspired to start a business that includes traveling and filming in one. Lately, I've been involved with an organisation in Germany, and we organised various events to empower women to build their own businesses. This period of my life influenced my current decision to take a step and build my own company while moving back to my homeland after 7 years abroad.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
The services we provide are for open spirits and adventure seekers. We combine learning and fun in one trip. We seek digital nomads who want to explore the film industry beyond borders, in a new location, while networking with people from all over the world. Wouldn't you join if you got an offer to co-work with like minded people, in a new destination, and learn from world filmmakers to teach you how to make this trip memorable and record it in a massive video that you can publish online? I believe it is very tempting!
"The services we provide are for open spirits and adventure seekers. We combine learning and fun in one trip."
Tell us a little about your team
My team includes filmmakers, an expert from the Unesco Chair of Journalism, and a visual anthropologist. They are living in various parts in the world, but we work remotely to grow the business.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
My entrepreneurial journey started from scratch. The only experience I had in the entrepreneurial world was when I worked for 3 months with women startups that in turn worked with women entrepreneurs as speakers for our events to empower female entrepreneurs and encourage them to keep going and build their ideas. This journey was absolutely something massive to experience. But, I learned through time during startup competitions on how to build and adjust your business plan. My brother is an entrepreneur, but my parents don't know anything related to business. Thus, my father encouraged me to start my business and supported me financially to kick start my idea during its early stages.
"We seek digital nomads who want to explore the film industry beyond borders, in a new location, while networking with people from all over the world."
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
I want to extend the platform overseas and build long filmmaking trips that last months.
This will need a production team and some expensive material, which will follow of course coming from small events that we aim to make revenue from.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Being an entrepreneur means freedom in its best way. You start to be creative and apply your own ideas, beside risking things without being worried that your boss won't like the results. You become your own boss, but at the same time, you lift so much responsibility on your shoulders. You free yourself and you pay the price if you ever mess with things by yourself. The whole process is adventurous and worth doing because it takes you to another level, where you start risking, blaming, destroying and building all at the same time, until you find the right way to become successful. You become like a new born who explores things and learns to do them well in the end.
"Among things that I've learned through this journey is that building confidence, courage and growing your skills in business happens only when you fail once, twice and even more times."
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
We all fear taking risks and we all experience failure. The only thing that makes you face the fear with courage is to take decisions and follow the journey with its good and bad. Among things that I've learned through this journey is that building confidence, courage and growing your skills in business happens only when you fail once, twice and even more times. We are used to hear that taking risks will screw us, and this is why most women hesitate to take a step and become an entrepreneur. If you really believe inside of you that your idea is worth trying, and that you are craving new challenges to face, don't wait but apply it in reality and work hard to change the image the world has about women as weak and not able to make it the same as men. Prove them wrong the way you see it works for you, but I advise you to try it through entrepreneurship because it is another experience that will change your life totally.
Contact or follow Nomadic Filmland Academy
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL chaymaa@nomadicfilmacademy.com
Why LoA loves it….
At LoA we love to see women entrepreneurs from across the African continent building exciting new businesses in new industry sectors, shaking up traditional ideas and ways of doing things and replacing them with exciting new approaches. Chaymaa Rhou is one such entrepreneur, taking her passion for both travel and filmmaking and turning it into a highly unique business proposition. --- Melanie Hawken, founder and editor-in-chief of Lionesses of Africa