Entertainment / Music
MultiChoice announces a major Pan-African initiative
31 May 2018 at 09:18hrs | Views
MultiChoice Africa has launched a new and far-reaching Pan-African social investment initiative called the MultiChoice Talent Factory, created to significantly enhance the pool of talent and skills in the continent's film and television production industry.
Said Lovemore Mangwende Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice Zimbabwe: "This is an exciting development that will massively impact the world of film and television across Africa and will involve Zimbabwean film-makers in the training flowing from the MTF initiative.
"African development has long been focused on other economic sectors, leaving our creative industries to fend for themselves on the fringes of economic development," he said.
"As a result, the film and television industry has not developed at the same rate as other sectors, and this is not for a lack of talent, passion or imagination. We are abundantly blessed in these areas, but the space given for this expression has, at best, been limited and, at worst, relegated to the fringes of the mainstream economy, leaving in its wake, unfulfilled dreams, unexplored talent and unwritten stories.
"As an African business, MultiChoice Africa and its partners and stakeholders across the continent are collaborating to make a positive socio-economic impact on the communities in which we live and work through the MultiChoice Talent Factory initiative."
The MTF initiative will deliver three touch points that are being launched: the MTF academies, master classes and the MTF Portal. The first to launch is the MTF Academy, a 12-month educational programme aimed at developing the skills of 60 deserving, young and talented people who want to work and innovate in film and television production. This will include candidates from Zimbabwe.
The MTF Academy students will be provided with skill sets to develop their talent, connect with industry professionals and help them tell African stories through a comprehensive curriculum comprising theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience in cinematography, editing, audio production and storytelling. The programme will take place at three regional MTF Academies, one of which is in Kenya for East Africa, another in Nigeria for West Africa and the third in Zambia for Southern African countries. These will be overseen by acclaimed African film and television experts.
In Southern Africa, Lwando has been appointed as the Academy Director for the hub. Speaking on the appointment, he said:
"I am delighted to be a part of this great African renaissance, one that will not only tap into Africa's latent but grow talent by up-skilling our young people to enable them to grow our creative industries.
"This is part of a game-changing era in which creative ana d productive skills will be developed to stimulate local content, allowing it to compete with the world's best across any genre. For Southern Africa, the MultiChoice Talent Factory answers the questions of training and advancement in film production we have asked for a long time and provides us the local content solution we have desired. Nothing can be more rewarding to our creative industries."
During the course of the programme, MTF Academy students will produce television and film content that will be aired on DStv's M-Net channels, including Africa Magic, Zambezi Magic, M-Net and SuperSport, reaching audiences on various DStv platforms. On graduating from the MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy, the MTF students will leave the Academy with the knowledge and skills to contribute professionally to the film and television industry.
MultiChoice is now calling all aspiring young film and TV creatives to apply for the MTF Academy at www.multichoicetalentfactory.com. The call for entry will close on July 5, after which 60 MTF students – a total of 20 in each of the three regions – will be selected from 13 African countries in which MultiChoice operates, including Zimbabwe. The programme of training will start on October 1 this year.
Join the MTF social media conversation on the hashtag #multichoicetalentfactory and follow/join:
Instagram: @multichoicetalentfactory;
Twitter: @MCTalentFactory
Facebook: @multichoiceafricatalentfactory
Said Lovemore Mangwende Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice Zimbabwe: "This is an exciting development that will massively impact the world of film and television across Africa and will involve Zimbabwean film-makers in the training flowing from the MTF initiative.
"African development has long been focused on other economic sectors, leaving our creative industries to fend for themselves on the fringes of economic development," he said.
"As a result, the film and television industry has not developed at the same rate as other sectors, and this is not for a lack of talent, passion or imagination. We are abundantly blessed in these areas, but the space given for this expression has, at best, been limited and, at worst, relegated to the fringes of the mainstream economy, leaving in its wake, unfulfilled dreams, unexplored talent and unwritten stories.
"As an African business, MultiChoice Africa and its partners and stakeholders across the continent are collaborating to make a positive socio-economic impact on the communities in which we live and work through the MultiChoice Talent Factory initiative."
The MTF initiative will deliver three touch points that are being launched: the MTF academies, master classes and the MTF Portal. The first to launch is the MTF Academy, a 12-month educational programme aimed at developing the skills of 60 deserving, young and talented people who want to work and innovate in film and television production. This will include candidates from Zimbabwe.
The MTF Academy students will be provided with skill sets to develop their talent, connect with industry professionals and help them tell African stories through a comprehensive curriculum comprising theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience in cinematography, editing, audio production and storytelling. The programme will take place at three regional MTF Academies, one of which is in Kenya for East Africa, another in Nigeria for West Africa and the third in Zambia for Southern African countries. These will be overseen by acclaimed African film and television experts.
"I am delighted to be a part of this great African renaissance, one that will not only tap into Africa's latent but grow talent by up-skilling our young people to enable them to grow our creative industries.
"This is part of a game-changing era in which creative ana d productive skills will be developed to stimulate local content, allowing it to compete with the world's best across any genre. For Southern Africa, the MultiChoice Talent Factory answers the questions of training and advancement in film production we have asked for a long time and provides us the local content solution we have desired. Nothing can be more rewarding to our creative industries."
During the course of the programme, MTF Academy students will produce television and film content that will be aired on DStv's M-Net channels, including Africa Magic, Zambezi Magic, M-Net and SuperSport, reaching audiences on various DStv platforms. On graduating from the MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy, the MTF students will leave the Academy with the knowledge and skills to contribute professionally to the film and television industry.
MultiChoice is now calling all aspiring young film and TV creatives to apply for the MTF Academy at www.multichoicetalentfactory.com. The call for entry will close on July 5, after which 60 MTF students – a total of 20 in each of the three regions – will be selected from 13 African countries in which MultiChoice operates, including Zimbabwe. The programme of training will start on October 1 this year.
Join the MTF social media conversation on the hashtag #multichoicetalentfactory and follow/join:
Instagram: @multichoicetalentfactory;
Twitter: @MCTalentFactory
Facebook: @multichoiceafricatalentfactory
Source - Agencies
