3-mob.com 
Budding filmmakers from Zimbabwe have been offered a chance to climb the ladder of professional opportunity through selection into year two of the MultiChoice Talent Factory initiative.
A call has been made for aspiring film and television professionals to apply for consideration for acceptance into the MultiChoice Talent Factory academy for Southern Africa, one of three set up last year to stimulate growth of the pool of technical talent in Africa.
According to Liz Dziva, publicity and public relations manager of MultiChoice Zimbabwe, three MTF academies were established in 2018 and the first course students at all three are at present half-way through the first year of operation, studying all aspects of production and working on practical assignments designed to hone their increasing skills in this field.
“Year two will start in October, once the first-years have graduated, and a call is being made to all aspiring filmmakers to place their names for consideration for places in the academies set up in Lusaka, for Southern Africa, in Nairobi, for East Africa, and in Lagos, for West Africa. Successful Zimbabweans will placed in the Lusaka, where they will follow two current Zimbabwean students on the first year course,” she said.
A total of 60 students are being sought, 20 in each of the academies, with an entry deadline for applications of June 14. The Lusaka academy is headed by respected industry professional Berry Lwando.
“Launched in May 2018 as part of MultiChoice Africa’s extensive corporate shared value initiative aimed at igniting Africa’s creative industry through TV and filmmaking, the MTF Academy programme seeks to harness the talents of emerging filmmakers from 13 African countries, including Zimbabwe,” said Ms Dziva.
“The applicants need either some industry experience or a relevant post-school qualification in filmmaking to apply for this exciting opportunity to hone their television and film production skills under the guidance and mentorship of industry experts.”
As part of the programme, young filmmakers are provided with training and hands-on experience in the film industry, with a focus on storytelling, production, audio and directing, as well as other key areas. The academies also provide students with an opportunity to learn directly from well-known leading industry experts, work on live sets of local TV productions and create original content that will be aired on various local M-Net channels across the MultiChoice platform.
MTF academies have to date exposed the Class of 2018 to real-life industry immersions that includes the East Africa hub students working on productions such as music reality show Coke Studio, Pambio, Turn-Up and the popular Swahili soap Selina. In West Africa the students cut their teeth on the thrilling series Battleground, The Johnsons, Tinsel and sitcom Flatmates, while the Southern African class worked on the reality show Date My Family, the Top ZED music show and the drama series Chintelelwe. The students also had an opportunity to gain hands-on experience on SuperSport shows and pitch their final-semester film projects to MultiChoice channel executives.
Dziva said the MTF initiative would also be introducing a MultiChoice Talent Factrory Masterclass series, aimed at offering industry professionals exclusive access to practical, expert-led industry skills workshops in various counties. Earlier this year, the initiative rolled out the MTF Portal, www.multichoicetalentfactory.com, an interactive online destination that brings talent and opportunities together under one platform for Africa’s creative talent to connect and network with each other.
She said would-be applicants for the MTF Academy should visit www.multichoicetalentfactory.com and follow the advised steps to enter, bearing in mind the deadline of June 14. The 60 students would be selected from 13 African countries in which MultiChoice operates for the year-long programme that will start in October. The countries are Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Angola and Mozambique.
People can join the MTF social media conversation on the hashtag #MultichoiceTalentFactory and follow or join Instagram: @multichoicetalentfactory; Twitter: @MCTalentFactory or Facebook: @multichoiceafricatalentfactory.
More information on the MultiChoice Talent Factory can also be sourced through [email protected].
A filimu TV update
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