As a graduate of the MultiChoice Talent Factory I am excited by the possible openings that are available to me in the sphere of film-making, so a recent visit to India gave me the feeling that doors are indeed opening in this amazing world of film.
The MultiChoice Talent Factory is an initiative started a few years ago to help expand the pool of talent in African film-making through providing meaningful training to aspiring young film-makers. There are three academies within the project — one in Lusaka for Southern Africa, one in Nairobi for East Africa and one in Lagos for West Africa. I was fortunate to be a selected student in the Lusaka Academy and after a year of hard work there I am already well down the road ahead.
I describe myself as a screenwriter, born, raised and educated in Zimbabwe. I was a graduate of the Multichoice Talent Factory class of 2022 and I am proud to say my first script was called A Quiet Intruder. I also have a degree in psychology (2017) and I feel this has helped me infuse my story-writing with a greater understanding of the human element.
I hope to continue writing beautiful stories, funny stories, gut-wrenching stories, stories infused with our rich Zimbabwean culture and stories that transcend boundaries, but perhaps most important, stories that illuminate the shared human experience.
In mid-February this year I embarked on an adventure, travelling to Mumbai in India on a Bollywood internship courtesy of the Multichoice Talent Factory and Zee Entertainment. This was an internship I had won on graduation at the end of my training year in Lusaka. Graduates from the other two academies were with me, so the three of us went head first into an intense programme soon after arrival.
Our hosts took their hospitality seriously, making our stay a most pleasant experience.
The main work highlights of this trip included learning the inner workings of Zee Entertainment as an organisation, attending the Zee Rishtey Awards — and seeing how they are filmed as well as visiting major production sets and attending workshops on different creative processes involved.
Rishtey Awards are an annual ceremony for Zee Entertainment’s many television channels.
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The scale of the set was astounding for me, with massive amounts of set building and large numbers of crew members making the preparations.
The sheer amount of preparatory work involved awed me. I gained a new respect for live events and the amount of preparation that goes into it.
We also got to meet some of the stars, which was exciting, but for me the heroes were the crew members.
This was all at Bollywood Film City. What an experience!
Learning the inner workings of Zee Entertainment and all about the creative and technical processes solidified some ideas that I had been entertaining in my head. I realised that I was on the right path. Zee Entertainment is a massive organisation.
It functions like a start-up, which gives it agility, but it is massive, with over 36 channels broadcasting across the world. We visited many offices and studios, meeting lots of amazing people who were willing to impart some of their knowledge to us.
We also visited a set on which they were shooting a promotional video and another set for one of the newer television shows.
Watching how this part of the world makes their television, asking questions, taking notes and generally allowing myself to be immersed in the world of Bollywood TV is an experience I will always remember.
The trip was fun and educational and the people of India were polite and hospitable. Our hosts were just the best, giving us an experience worth waiting for. I can thank Multichoice Talent Africa and Zee Entertainment for that.
This was my first time off the African continent, which added to the greatness of the experience.
And now I hope to contribute to the film and television industry in an even more meaningful way, as payback for a wonderful opportunity.
