ZIMBABWEAN graduates of the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) are poised to make inroads into Africa’s film and television industry with plans to make a meaningful contribution on the industry’s future trajectory on the continent
The MTF initiative founded several years ago has seen MultiChoice Africa establish three academies to provide training and skills enhancement for aspiring filmmakers from across the continent.
Of the three academies, one based in Lusaka, Zambia, serves southern Africa, while two others in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria, serve East Africa and West Africa, respectively.
For each of the academies, 20 students are selected to study each year on an annual course of wide-ranging content, thus providing an input of 60 trained and work-ready graduates for the film and television industry.
Zimbabwe has had eight students graduate to date and two are currently in school at the Southern African academy. The graduates are helping to create the industry of the future.
One of the 2023 graduates, Simbarashe Nyahwa said that his participation at MTF was among the most rewarding and exciting periods of his life as this had shaped his filmmaking career.
“During my time at the MTF we were given a chance to go on what they call an immersion with Zambezi Magic production, which gave us a chance to see what happens behind the scenes of the film productions we see on television and where we could enjoy hands-on experience,” he recalled.
“At our master classes we had meaningful learning experiences from industry experts and it was in these that I had a chance to learn more about producing and audio post-production, which became my areas of key interest.”
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Towards the end of the year’s class, Nyahwa and fellow students were tasked with working on two feature films as final projects, where he was a line producer for one of the films.
“This was undoubtedly one of the major highlights because it was my debut film as a line producer and being put in this role taught me many lessons about teamwork and leadership,” he said.
Nyahwa said that enrolling on the MTF course made a huge difference for him as he had little knowledge about film production.
“At the academy we were exposed to the industry experts who could teach us how to make films and also how to be creative with what resources we had,” he said.
Nyahwa said takeaways from the course included learning the benefits of teamwork and collaboration.
Creativity and problem solving also became features of Nyahwa’s experience.
“I learnt that good filmmakers are people who get to work with whatever resources they have at their disposal to tell stories and it doesn’t matter if these resources are limited or not. I also learnt that if there are problems, whether unexpected or expected, we simply have to work out how to find solutions to these problems and get the job done,” the filmmaker said.
Nyahwa has made an impact on Zimbabwe’s film industry since his graduation.
“I have been a judge in the Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust’s Smartphone Short Film Competition, providing what I hope are valuable insights to participants on improving their craft,” he said adding that he was selected for the One World Media Fellowship to collaborate soon on a short documentary film project with fellow young filmmakers in Zimbabwe.
Nyahwa is also involved with the Future of Film Africa programme, collaborating with a team of young Zimbabwean filmmakers to develop a story for an industry showcase.
“I am also a proud member of the Canon Collins Scholars Network, which is funding my master’s studies in film and television studies at the University of Cape Town,” he said.
“My research project focuses on the development of transmedia and immersive storytelling in Africa, with emphasis on its potential benefits for African filmmakers and the future of Showmax.”
The filmmaker said the initiatives have made him contribute his knowledge and skills development, which in turn could help uplift the Zimbabwean film industry and create opportunities for other young filmmakers, as well as push the boundaries of innovative storytelling.
The future looks bright for Nyahwa, whose ambition is to establish a film and television production company with a strong focus on creating opportunities for young people to break into the industry.
“My goal is to provide a platform for emerging talent to gain practical experience, build their skills, and access employment opportunities in film and television production,” he said.
“In the longer term I plan to specialise in transmedia production, especially in the expansion of African film projects into highly successful multi-platform communications and international campaigns and build story worlds for films, TV shows, video games, toys, books, comics, apps and virtual reality projects.”
Nyahwa is excited about the possibility of this venture happening and succeeding and is open to support, guidance or collaboration that can help him achieve his goals.
“Whether it is through partnerships, funding, mentorship or networking opportunities, I believe that together we can all make a meaningful impact on the industry and create a brighter future for young people in film and TV,” he said.
