Josta Hopps
Josta is now a professional filmmaker who had a photograph on the front page of the Observer and The Guardian and he was runner up in a Water Aid competition. He has been attending WAYout courses since we began. He did documentary with Alan Sim and Wendie Ottewill, Script writing with Nicholas Mcinerny and editing with Brian Mcandrew. He won the soap writing competition WAYout ran and wrote and starred in his first drama called “My Last Choice”.
But the first short film he completed was about his own life- ‘Dark Night‘ which describes how he left home in the diamond mining area of Kenema and lived with an aunt who threw him out. He then lived on the street with a ‘bad’ gang before finding iEARN and later WAYout. There were times when he felt suicidal, lost, alone but he seized the opportunities that were offered and now he is almost part of the furniture at WAYout. First in and last out.
Josta passes on his knowledge and has taught several filmmaking courses. He has made many music videos, in 2013 he wrote, directed and edited his first feature film “Way Out, The Longest Dream“, he has done a lot of work for Street Child, Children in Crisis and other NGOs and is prolific and dedicated to filmmaking.
In 2014, Josta supported shoots with Hazel Chandler to produce short films about families affected by ebola for Street Child – these films were then aired on the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Sky, and other international TV channels.
Links to Josta’s videos- aka Clergyman
Hip Hop Ebola by The Black Street Family
Soupur by Clergyman
