​Strike Anywhere and Udemy improves lives through learning

Independent film company Strike Anywhere, worked with Udemy, a company dedicated to improving lives through learning, to develop and execute two short-docu series-style films to capture the instructor-learner dynamic. 

Highlighting the platform’s ability to create change through skills development and learning, the first film from Strike Anywhere director Akil Gibbons tells the story of Udemy instructor Chris Haroun and learner-turned-instructor Vital Nsengiyumva. It is titled Building Opportunity: Vital & Chris, and was shot in Magu, Rwanda.

A handpicked team from Strike Anywhere partnered with the Udemy team to develop the story and then worked with director Akil Gibbons to translate this into a compelling asset that highlights how Udemy is democratising access to learning and skills. This holistic agency and in-house approach, brief to script to screen, allowed Udemy to stick to its timeline and shoot globally for maximum brand impact. Known for his impactful, award-winning storytelling for past projects with Mastercard, AT&T, and Vice, Gibbons brought a unique filmmaking perspective to the Building Opportunity film. 

For Building Opportunity: Vital & Chris, a core team from Strike Anywhere traveled to Rwanda to join Udemy instructor Chris Haroun and learner-turned-instructor Vital Nsengiyumva, who grew up in the village of Magu. Haroun and Strike’s filmmakers were invited to Nsengiyumva’s mother’s house for a home-cooked meal, breaking language barriers by sharing experiences and ending with a ribbon cutting to officially open a first-of-its-kind learning centre in Magu built by Nsengiyumva and Haroun. During the grand opening, they taught an inaugural class, sharing their knowledge with learners from the village.  

The touching film is shot in documentary style and addresses the issues in Magu that have barred others in Nsengiyumva’s village from pursuing education, including the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s. Nsengiyumva’s journey, which makes mention of his master’s degree in engineering and his aspirations of giving back to his village, parallels that of Haroun, who quit his job in venture capital in the Bay Area to pursue his dream of teaching full-time. Following their first meeting, Nsengiyumva became an instructor on Udemy himself, with the proceeds of his course directly contributing to the building of their school in Magu. 

“This experience meant a lot to me as an African-American filmmaker, as it was my first time visiting the continent of Africa,” says director Akil Gibbons, speaking of the Udemy project. “What I brought to the project as a filmmaker, I believe, was the same passion for education, opportunity, and power to change lives as the Udemy learners and instructors putting those words to action by providing those gateways to educational opportunities in Rwanda.”