How Storytelling Shaped My Life — From Career to Content Creation
I’ve always been drawn to stories — not just the kind told through film, but the kind that shift perspective, bring clarity, and give people a voice. Whether shared on a stage, a screen, a blog, or in a classroom, storytelling has always felt like my natural way of connecting with the world.
In 2011, I graduated with a University Diploma from the College of Agriculture. But even as I completed that journey, I could feel something pulling me in a different direction. I was more interested in documenting, sharing, and communicating than in lab work or farming systems. I didn’t yet call it “content creation.” I just knew I had something to say, and I was searching for the right format.
The Beginning: Film as My First Medium
In 2012, I found film — and it became the first tool I used to express content at scale. I attended workshops like Maisha Film Lab, Rwanda Media Project, and others that opened my eyes to the craft of visual storytelling. I wasn’t just learning how to shoot or edit; I was learning how to make people feel something meaningful.
Between 2013 and 2016, I worked on a range of film projects — short films, documentaries, features — in multiple creative roles:
- Umutoma (Script Advisor)
- Stereotypes (Writer-Director)
- Disconnected (Art Director)
- Ikorosi / The Corner (Writer-Director & Producer)
These projects weren’t about entertainment alone — they were about perspective. And soon, our work started being recognized across Africa and internationally: Mashariki African Film Festival (Rwanda), Luxor (Egypt), Durban (South Africa), Cefalù (Italy), NewFilmmakers Los Angeles, and more.
From Projects to Purpose
In 2017, I became the Festival Programmer for the Rwanda Film Festival, which gave me a broader view — of content, community, and curation.
That same year, I took a bold step: I paused full-time employment to focus on storytelling. I founded Teebah Film Village, a company that aimed to tell life-changing stories through film.
But by 2021, I closed the company due to a lack of management skills. That failure became a turning point. I continued contributing to the industry by mentoring young creators as a film-producing mentor at the Rwanda Media Project — a training initiative for Rwandan filmmakers implemented by media education babelsberg gGmbH, supported by GIZ and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
By 2025, with more clarity and experience, I rebranded the vision into Teebah Media Village — not as a film house, but as a B2B Social Enterprise that helps social brands improve their visibility and productivity. Because what I’ve learned is this: No visibility, no sales. No productivity, no growth.
From Film to Full-Scale Content Creation
In 2021, I wrote and directed my debut feature film I Bwiza (Tenacity). It won Best Indie Film from Africa at the Best Film Awards (UK), aired on Canal+ Rwanda, and was selected by several international film festivals.
The following year, I was selected as one of six East African filmmakers for a prestigious program led by DOCUBOX, DOCA, and the Scottish Documentary Institute, supported by the British Council. Through that program, I created the 12-minute documentary Forgiven But Not Forgotten, which was screened at both the Aesthetica Short Film Festival and Africa in Motion Film Festival in the UK. The film later won Best Documentary at the Rwanda International Movie Awards (RIMA).
My current feature film, Who is Who, which I co-wrote with Kenyan writers Cajetan Boy and Jackline Asava, is currently in development. The project was selected to participate in the Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab in 2022 and has already received a $2,000 writing grant from the Rwanda Film Office. It represents not just another story I want to tell, but a new level of collaboration and international creative exchange.
Today, I serve as a Communication Expert, Author, and Content Coach, helping 9 to 5 professionals build income, influence, and identity without leaving their jobs. Through this platform, www.ngoganowa.com, I teach how to turn knowledge, experience, and talents into meaningful content and digital assets. Whether it’s coaching, content strategy, or storytelling frameworks, my mission is to help working professionals make better use of the time they still own. Because a 9 to 5 job only takes 8 hours but it’s what you do with the remaining 16 that can fund your future, amplify your voice, and unlock your next chapter.