B’ella to screen in secondary schools

After screening in all four cities of the country, Dikamawoko Arts plans to take the movie, B’ella to secondary schools in Blantyre to advocate for behaviour change.

B’ella, a movie that tackles issues of a girl child, was on Friday screened in Mzuzu to kick-start a national tour. Lilongwe and Zomba will be the next destinations at the end of November.

Thereafter, said Dikamawoko founder Tawonga Nkhonjera, the movie will be screened in secondary schools in Blantyre in a pilot project worth K11 million ($19,643), before embarking on a full scale project to reach several schools across the country.

“When we took the movie to Czech Republic, people there were screening it in secondary schools to learn about our culture. So, I thought we could do the same to advocate for behaviour change,” said Nkhonjera, who directed the movie.

B’ella, set at a local secondary school, tackles issues of teen pregnancies and abortion, stigma associated with HIV and Aids in schools, bullying, peer pressure, alcohol abuse, poverty, issues of child headed families and male teachers molesting girl learners.

The project has been budgeted at K11 million but will go down to K6 million if they find a vehicle.

“We are set for the project. We have the film and equipment such as a laptop, projector and facilitators. We are now looking for support for a vehicle and fuel to start going into the schools,” he said.

B’ella, produced in 2013 on a K12 million ($21,429) budget, has done well internationally as it has been screened at 13 international film festivals.