Menyelek Marin-Coleman showing the campers a camera
by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Wed. July 2, 2025
The United Black Association for Development Educational Foundation (UEF) is hosting its 4th annual summer Youth Film Photography Camp in memory of “Breddah” Cliff Augustine, who passed away in 2022.
The camp caters to children between the ages of 8 and 16 years from different neighborhoods in the Southside of Belize City, including those residing on Jane Usher Boulevard, Fabers Road, and Mayflower Street, and in the Yarborough and Saint Martin De Porres areas.
“Only the people who live under oppression can tell fu we story,” said YaYa Marin-Coleman, Chairperson of UEF. “If we nuh tell fu we story, and look pahn di media, you wuda think only black males commit crimes, because that’s the singular narrative; but there’s more to people than a single narrative. That’s why these young people from impoverished and inner-city communities wahn change storytelling,” she expressed.
The camp is being conducted by Menyelek Marin-Coleman, an accomplished international photographer, who told Amandala that this year’s lesson will be primarily theoretical compared to previous years.
“The kids had a lot of hands-on experience from day one, and we wanted to focus on having fun and getting used to film photography and cameras. This year, we’re focusing on theory and pretty much the basics of photography, starting at the ground floor of framing, composing, loading and unloading films, and different types of photography,” he said. “I’m trying to expand their knowledge on a theoretical level, for them learning the basics of what they’re doing, and become visual storytellers themselves,” Marin-Coleman continued.
Similar to previous years, the camp will run throughout July, with the kids capturing elements from the theme and exploring life outside the city with the support of Black in Marine Science, capturing underwater marine life.
After the pictures are taken, the film will be developed by its partner, ArtHouse Film Labs, an independent film company based in Los Angeles, California. Then at the end of the month the pictures will be showcased at a community exhibition at the UEF library, where the art pieces can be purchased and given to the children.
“I want young photographers to know their worth at a young age. Photography may seem like a skill that anybody can do, but the photographers I’m raising are professionals. A job is only a job when you get paid for it, so I want them to know that they can get paid for doing what they love, the same way I have. That’s my overall goal with this camp: to create an infrastructure that Belizean photographers can make their own money inside the country, and don’t feel like they have to go elsewhere to get money,” Menyelek Marin-Coleman emphasizes.
The theme this year is “Natural Hair in the Community.”
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