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Harnessing the art of acting

Suya (L) and actor Hope Chisano in The Last Fishing Boat
Suya (L) and actor Hope Chisano in The Last Fishing Boat

They say acting is an art. And this is no more evident than watching Flora Suya in action.

The 26-year-old Flora has established herself as the leading lady in Malawian movie industry after arousing performances in Shemu Joyah’s Seasons of a Life and The Last Fishing Boat.

Even though her appearance does not reflect what she is capable of doing on stage, radio and on camera, one can safely conclude that she a good actress based on how she transforms from a housemaid to a village wife and all other characters thrown at her.

Born on May 4 1987, Suya has established herself as the first name that comes to mind when someone mentions Malawian actresses.

According to Suya, her career stated way back when in primary school where, based on her hyper-activeness and creativity, she was picked to star in a drama performance that was organised by a visiting German group.

Over the past five years, Suya has starred in two of Malawi’s award winning movies, Seasons of a Life and The Last Fishing Boat, taking the lead roles in both movies.

But before that, Suya had been lurking in the shadows, trying to express and cherish her passion for acting.

In 2002, she announced herself on the scene with an appearance in a Ministry of Information radio drama Tifere Zina. In the play, she starred as an orphan who lived with an abusive aunt.

This opened doors for the youthful actress as, following this, she found herself in various radio dramas such asMbali Yanga, Tikwere, Pakachere and the famous television soap opera Tikuferanji.

Following those baby steps in acting, Suya joined Wakhumbata Ensemble Theatre in 2006 in the play Memories of a First Love in which she stars as Natalie, a girl born in a rich family whose parents were affected by HIV and Aids.

As her passion for acting grew and following her success on stage plays, she joined Nazikambe Arts Theatre for two productions I Will Marry When I Want, with which she toured Germany, and The Messenger, which was performed locally.

“After acting in these plays is when I realised that I had an intrinsic acting talent in me and I started to cherish it more looking at how I had performed and how the audience reacted to my performances,” explained Suya.

The year 2009 brought good tidings for the actress as she was elected to star in Seasons of a Life as a house maid.

Last year presented an opportunity for her to take her acting career a notch higher as she starred in The Last Fishing Boat in which he took the leading role of Abiti Anefa, the reserved third wife to a fisherman Yusufu, played by the outstanding Hope Chisanu.

Following the success of The Last Fishing Boat, Suya was nominated in the Best Actress category out of the 650 nominations at the 2013 African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).

“Even though I did not win, the nomination on its own was an achievement that I will always cherish because it is not that easy to be among the top from 650 nominations,” explained Suya.

She added that she sees a bright future for herself in the movie industry.

“I have always liked acting and I like the fact that I am involved in the genesis of the movie industry in the country. This career has built a lot of opportunities and opened doors in my life,” she said.

Every career has its own challenges and for Suya, the perception that people hold towards actors in this country is one of her biggest challenges.

“People think that an actress is a prostitute. The way they address or talk to you is like they are talking to one of those cheap girls but that is not what acting is all about,” explained Suya.

And on the future of the movie industry in Malawi, she says there is a gradual change in the industry.

“Malawi is still in the genesis but I have high hopes that the country will improve for the better because we have good actors and actresses,” Suya said.

She calls on government and the private sector to show interest in theatre.

“It is always about football and other areas. Theatre also needs a helping hand for there is a lot of talent here in Malawi but the actors and actress have no exposure,” she says.

Meanwhile, Suya is starring in an upcoming soap, Senses, in which she plays a gang leader to a human trafficking gang. She is also involved in another soap, Choices, in which she stars as Tina, a married business lady who runs a saloon.

Suya has worked as an operations supervisor at Face to Face Marketing and is currently a student at The Polytechnic studying towards a diploma in journalism.

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Entertainment NewsSociety

Harnessing the art of acting

Suya (L) and actor Hope Chisano in The Last Fishing Boat
Suya (L) and actor Hope Chisano in The Last Fishing Boat

They say acting is an art. And this is no more evident than watching Flora Suya in action.

The 26-year-old Flora has established herself as the leading lady in Malawian movie industry after arousing performances in Shemu Joyah’s Seasons of a Life and The Last Fishing Boat.

Even though her appearance does not reflect what she is capable of doing on stage, radio and on camera, one can safely conclude that she a good actress based on how she transforms from a housemaid to a village wife and all other characters thrown at her.

Born on May 4 1987, Suya has established herself as the first name that comes to mind when someone mentions Malawian actresses.

According to Suya, her career stated way back when in primary school where, based on her hyper-activeness and creativity, she was picked to star in a drama performance that was organised by a visiting German group.

Over the past five years, Suya has starred in two of Malawi’s award winning movies, Seasons of a Life and The Last Fishing Boat, taking the lead roles in both movies.

But before that, Suya had been lurking in the shadows, trying to express and cherish her passion for acting.

In 2002, she announced herself on the scene with an appearance in a Ministry of Information radio drama Tifere Zina. In the play, she starred as an orphan who lived with an abusive aunt.

This opened doors for the youthful actress as, following this, she found herself in various radio dramas such asMbali Yanga, Tikwere, Pakachere and the famous television soap opera Tikuferanji.

Following those baby steps in acting, Suya joined Wakhumbata Ensemble Theatre in 2006 in the play Memories of a First Love in which she stars as Natalie, a girl born in a rich family whose parents were affected by HIV and Aids.

As her passion for acting grew and following her success on stage plays, she joined Nazikambe Arts Theatre for two productions I Will Marry When I Want, with which she toured Germany, and The Messenger, which was performed locally.

“After acting in these plays is when I realised that I had an intrinsic acting talent in me and I started to cherish it more looking at how I had performed and how the audience reacted to my performances,” explained Suya.

The year 2009 brought good tidings for the actress as she was elected to star in Seasons of a Life as a house maid.

Last year presented an opportunity for her to take her acting career a notch higher as she starred in The Last Fishing Boat in which he took the leading role of Abiti Anefa, the reserved third wife to a fisherman Yusufu, played by the outstanding Hope Chisanu.

Following the success of The Last Fishing Boat, Suya was nominated in the Best Actress category out of the 650 nominations at the 2013 African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).

“Even though I did not win, the nomination on its own was an achievement that I will always cherish because it is not that easy to be among the top from 650 nominations,” explained Suya.

She added that she sees a bright future for herself in the movie industry.

“I have always liked acting and I like the fact that I am involved in the genesis of the movie industry in the country. This career has built a lot of opportunities and opened doors in my life,” she said.

Every career has its own challenges and for Suya, the perception that people hold towards actors in this country is one of her biggest challenges.

“People think that an actress is a prostitute. The way they address or talk to you is like they are talking to one of those cheap girls but that is not what acting is all about,” explained Suya.

And on the future of the movie industry in Malawi, she says there is a gradual change in the industry.

“Malawi is still in the genesis but I have high hopes that the country will improve for the better because we have good actors and actresses,” Suya said.

She calls on government and the private sector to show interest in theatre.

“It is always about football and other areas. Theatre also needs a helping hand for there is a lot of talent here in Malawi but the actors and actress have no exposure,” she says.

Meanwhile, Suya is starring in an upcoming soap, Senses, in which she plays a gang leader to a human trafficking gang. She is also involved in another soap, Choices, in which she stars as Tina, a married business lady who runs a saloon.

Suya has worked as an operations supervisor at Face to Face Marketing and is currently a student at The Polytechnic studying towards a diploma in journalism.

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