By Abdi Ali
Published June 1, 2018
A South Africa-based video entertainment and internet company has launched a programme it says will help in turning audiovisual media across Africa into a vibrant creative industry.
The company, Multichoice Africa, that is launching regional academies in Nigeria (western Africa), Kenya (eastern Africa) and Zambia (southern Africa), has invited applications from young Africans for its sponsored year-long MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) Academy.
“This is your chance to gain practical experience and learn theoretical knowledge about the film industry from Africa’s top creative professionals,” Multichoice says of its mentorship whose application deadline is July 5, 2018. Applications are to be made online via multichoicetalentfactory.com.
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The initiative shall select 60–20 for each region-– applicants that it says it shall equip with ‘television and film production skills in the company of industry experts during the year-long programme that will begin on October 1, 2018’.
Multichoice says its ‘MTF Academy students will be provided with skillsets to develop their talent, connect with industry professionals and tell authentic African stories through a comprehensive curriculum comprising theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience in cinematography, editing, audio production and storytelling’.
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The programme, that is to be overseen by regional MTF Academy directors Cecilia Muhoho (eastern Africa), Femi Odugbemi (western Africa) and Berry Lwando (southern Africa), shall be held in Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia, ris scheduled to run in Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia, respectively.
“Filmmaking knowledge and skills that translate into enhanced livelihood is what our youth in the creative industry desire,” says Muhoho. “The MultiChoice Talent Factory is a response to this outcry. MTF is a 12-month long filmmaking bootcamp where the student will be taken on an experiential and practical filmmaking journey that will result in a highly competent graduate, that is passionate, employable and an entrepreneurial filmmaker. My role is to be a catalyst to this process.”
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Students, Multichoice says, ‘will be provided with skill-set to develop their talent, connect with industry professionals and tell authentic African stories through a comprehensive curriculum comprising theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience in cinematography, editing, audio production and storytelling’.
Multichoice says students, during the course of the programme, will produce television and film content that will be aired on Multichoice’s local M-Net channels–Africa Magic, Maisha Magic East, Maisha Magic Bongo, Zambezi Magic, M-Net and SuperSport–to reach African audiences on DStv. Consequently MTF graduates are expected to leave the Academy after 12 months of training with the knowledge and skills to contribute professionally to Africa’s film and television sector.
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