News / National
Govt to fund local film industry
05 Mar 2012 at 12:55hrs | Views
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity, George Charamba, said the future of the local film industry rests with core funding from central government in order for the sector to be viable.
Charamba said government has come up with a position that it should fund the film school in Harare and its various projects.
He added that his ministry has a mandate to develop and fund the film sector.
Zimbabwe's film industry has always been under heavy scrutiny as local players in the sector highlighted challenges which they said were working against progress.
"The government through the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity has given its first priority the film industry and the digitalisation programme and make sure that funding has been unveiled to the film sector through the film school and money is also available for digitalisation programmes. This is going to be our core business this year," he said.
Zimbabwe has talented film producers, directors and actors and the industry has been in a dilemma with most players in the film sector realising too little from their hard efforts and struggling to make a living.
Charamba said the government will make sure that the film sector will achieve its desired goals of creating a vibrant industry.
"It is the duty of the government and not NGOs to support the film industry so that we can tell our own story through our own eyes without being dictated to by outside donors," Charamba said.
Fund raising was one of the major challenges facing filmmakers in the country hence the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity will work towards assisting the film school.
Non-Governmental Organisations have been controlling the process of film making and it has impacted on the message to be conveyed to the audiences.
At a recently held Indaba in Harare on the film sector, stakeholders in the industry urged government to come up with a framework and a development policy for creating the industrial requirement of a vibrant film sector.
Charamba said government has come up with a position that it should fund the film school in Harare and its various projects.
He added that his ministry has a mandate to develop and fund the film sector.
Zimbabwe's film industry has always been under heavy scrutiny as local players in the sector highlighted challenges which they said were working against progress.
"The government through the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity has given its first priority the film industry and the digitalisation programme and make sure that funding has been unveiled to the film sector through the film school and money is also available for digitalisation programmes. This is going to be our core business this year," he said.
Charamba said the government will make sure that the film sector will achieve its desired goals of creating a vibrant industry.
"It is the duty of the government and not NGOs to support the film industry so that we can tell our own story through our own eyes without being dictated to by outside donors," Charamba said.
Fund raising was one of the major challenges facing filmmakers in the country hence the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity will work towards assisting the film school.
Non-Governmental Organisations have been controlling the process of film making and it has impacted on the message to be conveyed to the audiences.
At a recently held Indaba in Harare on the film sector, stakeholders in the industry urged government to come up with a framework and a development policy for creating the industrial requirement of a vibrant film sector.
Source - Zbc
