Drive-in premiere for fatsani

Malawian movie lovers have been waiting to get an opportunity to watch a locally produced movie titled Fatsani for over a year now.

When the production team first announced the dates for its premiere last year, Covid-19 came on the scene and disrupted everything.

After the first wave of Covid-19, hope was restored and new dates were announced.

But from late December Covid-19 cases begun to soar again, marking the start of the second wave. Now the  production crew has come up with an innovative way of screening the movie while observing all preventive measures.

The movie will be screened in what they call drive-in cinema premiere in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This form of a cinema is a large outdoor event  where fun seekers watch a film from the privacy and comfort of their cars. It will be reminscent of the old days when Malawians would watch movies at Drive-In Cinema in Blantyre.

According to Fatsani’s production team led by Gift Sukez Sukali of HD Plus Creations, the development is in line with the initial plan of premiering the film on April 30.

“We are planning a drive in movie event to give Malawians a movie drive-in experience. We realised that we had to be creative due to the pandemic. Our aim is to have a Covid-free zone. Families, couples, friends and individuals will be allowed to drive in and enjoy the movie in their cars,” he said.

Drive-in movie theatres are common in the West and have been the ideal choice for cinemas since Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

“The goal was to premiere the movie in a unique way and to bring the cinema culture back to Malawi. The drive-in will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most Malawians. We have partnered with some of the best event planners and managers in the country for the best results,” said Sukez.

The premiere will employ tight restrictions in terms of movement.

“We have already partnered with security companies such as Eagle Sight and we will work with the police to ensure that all protocols are observed. We will also have a huge event management team,” he said.

After the premiere, the production crew plans to show Fatsani across the country.

“We would like to change the game and are planning to push the movie to Netflix so that the international market can appreciate it. We urge the general public to help with the noise on Twitter where the second trailer will be premiered. It is Malawi’s time to shine,” said Sukez.

Meanwhile, the second trailer of the film has been released with sponsorship from Sky Energy.

The company’s founder and CEO, Schizzo Thomson, said the support stems from their belief in social responsibility.

“With this ongoing pandemic, various sectors across the country have been affected and all these have attributed to hardships to many people’s lives and businesses. So, as Sky Energy, our social responsibility was to ease the impact of Covid-19 exemplified by various charity activities we have done during this pandemic,” said Thomson.

Fatsani is a movie about a young girl who finds herself with the responsibility to fend for herself and her family. It chronicles the challenges of vendors in the streets and the abuse they suffer in the hands of authorities.