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Welcome to the website Africareporter.NET of Dutch Africa journalist / correspondent / screenwriter Arjen Westra.
I am currently restyling the website, apologies for non-working links. Arjen Westra (1970) is a Dutch journalist/photographer/screenwriter of several guide books on East and Southern Africa and has more than 20 years of experience as an independent traveler on the continent.
Since 1997, he works as a journalist for several media of which more than 17 years in Africa. Arjen’s career in journalism started in 1994, when during his studies, he became a reporter for the local newspaper he used to deliver. In 2002 he moved to the African continent with a bag and a laptop.
His first reports were for the Dutch newspaper Het Parool en the Belgian quality newspaper De Standaard. Media soon became interested in other services.
Arjen Westra: “…nowadays, I am able to deliver a wide variety of services for media that have in common that I can combine my wide experience on the continent with a unique view of years of Africa-experience.â€
I spend roughly eight months of the year on the road to collect stories. Languages: German, English, French, Dutch, Swahili. Services: Live Stand-up, Live On Skype/IP, Live on Radio, Video Package, Audio package, Interview, Vox Pop, Documentary Films, News Gathering, Feature Stories, Blog Writing, Public Relations Copy, Research, Investigative Journalism, Interview, Photography, Fixing.
Westra:
“After a few years, I had a feeling that as a journalist, I would not be able to tell the stories I wanted, simply because the laws of news apply. I decided to auto-didact myself in screenwriting: writing for the screen. Movies, cinema combine all the disciplines I have ever worked in over the past years: theatre lighting, stage acting, photography, and radio.”
“At the moment, I am working on several short movies, getting finance for my first feature-length movie and developing a tv-series and an animation series for children. In the process, I keep on studying the craft of screenwriting, simply because, in this competitive environment, you can’t afford NOT to read anything about the craft.”
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