Amakhosi new soapie to hit screen soon

BULAWAYO'S premier television series production house, Amakhosi Productions, is billed to make a return to the screen with a new soap opera early next year.

The soap, Beloved Country is expected to be screened on ZTV and could be refreshing for viewers who have longed to watch a production from this side of the country.

Amakhosi director, Cont Mhlanga confirmed his return to the screen and said they are slowly clawing back into the arts industry following the demise of the institution due the economic meltdown experienced in the country years back.

"As you know we have been slowly reviving the institution, this year we were focusing on the Academy and now that it is up and running, we are going back to creating productions and next year we are coming up with one in film and another for the stage. Beloved Country will be for the screen and shown on ZTV while City to City will be for theatre," he said.

Mhlanga said he is in the final stages of writing the script and shooting will commence once casting has been done.

"It's a done deal, it will certainly be ready for the second season of programming," he said adding that they are shooting the film from private funds.

Mhlanga said casting was already underway and they are looking for professional and semi-professional actors.

"We are not going to be taking people from the street and turning them into actors. We want to come up with a quality production and we are going to stick to actors who have trained before, irrespective of which group they trained with.

"We will take (Amakhosi) academy students, professional actors who have made it big and actors who are just making an entry into the scene," he said.

Mhlanga said they would be taking actors from all over the country and not just Bulawayo.

Beloved Country is set to follow in the footsteps of film gems that have come out of Amakhosi including the likes of Amakorokoza, Sinjalo and Hlengiwe Mntanami among others. These films and others gripped and enthralled TV viewers countrywide elevating Amakhosi to the top perch of the film industry in the country.

Mhlanga revealed that ZTV was his television station of choice despite having blasted them now and again.

"I am a diehard ZTV fan, while my family watches their satellite programmes, in my study I will be watching ZTV. While I have insulted them, I still follow it. Although, 90 percent of the content is generated in Harare now, I don't stop watching it.

"I am, however, impressed with the improvement in the quality of their productions, I still believe there is need for proper casting and sets," he said.

Mhlanga said it is important that we get content from Bulawayo also featuring in the station rather than being fed content from other areas.

City to City will go on a tour of 14 cities, mainly border towns.

"We will tour border towns of the country and border towns of neighbouring countries, as we have entered into partnerships with various groups from countries such as Botswana, South Africa and Namibia among others," said Mhlanga.