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‘The Shadow Scholars’ Sheds Light on Multibillion-Dollar ‘Fake Essay’ Industry Built on the Work and Wits of Kenyan Writers
The Steve McQueen executive produced documentary directed by Eloise King explores the lucrative world of Kenyans writing essays for foreign students.
An underground economy built around the Kenyans ghost-writing essays for more privileged college students is brought into the light in Eloïse King ’s “The Shadow Scholars,” a documentary executive produced by Steve McQueen that plays this week at the Joburg Film Festival. The London-born director’s feature debut is a revealing portrait of the multibillion-dollar “fake essay” industry that employs an estimated 40,000 Kenyans — highly educated, chronically underemployed individuals making ends meet by writing academic papers for students across the globe. The film chronicles the daily lives of several writers juggling day jobs and parenting duties as they work tirelessly to meet academic deadlines overseas, while posing questions about “the power of visibility, and who gets seen and who doesn’t,” according to King.
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