LOCAL award-winning actor, director and producer Ben Mahaka has urged producers to up their standards so their productions can match international standards.
BY WINSTONE ANTONO
Mahaka, who rose to fame while playing the role of Tom Mbambo in the popular Zimbabwean soap opera Studio 263, told NewsDay at the launch of the new Zambezi Magic channel on the DStv bouquet the local film industry had to improve.
“As film producers we must improve the quality of our productions if they are to make the grade on the international platform. We have to produce works that can be so visible that they become our faces in a way,” Mahaka said.
Meanwhile, speaking at the launch, MultiChoice publicist Elizabeth Dziva said the channel was tailor-made for audiences in Zimbabwe and the rest of Southern Africa.
“The specialised nature of the content of this new channel to the DStv bouquet is its opportunities and platform for content from here in Zimbabwe, as well as the chance it will give to us all to enjoy the increasing amount of content being produced in neighbouring countries,” Dziva said.
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Dziva said the channel will be the home of Southern and Central African TV entertainment, a treat for DStv Premium, Compact Plus and Compact subscribers in Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries with a variety of quality programming.
“Zambezi Magic is a channel that has been created solely with the Southern African viewer in mind and will offer the most sought-after content that has so far not been available outside of South Africa,” she said.
“It will bring viewers in this part of the world the kind of content they have been asking for, and the channel will also build regional entertainment brands by showcasing entertainment productions from various Southern African countries.”
Dziva said part of MultiChoice’s main objectives is to invest in and support local production companies so they are confident that as the channel grows, so will the number of local content from each Southern African country.
“We look forward to introducing new and exciting talent from Zimbabwe to the rest of Southern Africa. The channel will entertain viewers with riveting plots on award-winning soapies like Generations, Muvhango, Isidingo, Zone 14, and Jacob’s Cross while getting a healthy dose of critically-acclaimed edutainment TV series Intersexions and Yizo Yizo that explore various societal issues and have sparked debates around issues like the HIV and Aids pandemic, love and relationships,” Dziva said.