Joyah film back in Lilongwe
The Last Fishing Boat goes to Lilongwe on Wednesday, two days after screening before a sizeable audience in Blantyre.
The second coming of the Shemu Joyah film, which premiered last month, started at Robin’s Park on Monday afternoon.
It heads for Kamuzu Institute of Sports at 2.30pm, a turn for those who missed the evening show at Bingu International Conference Centre in November.
Shot in Mangochi, the 110-minute film could only fill a quarter of the magnificent venue near Kwacha Roundabout. In the audience were Destined for Greater Things writer Alfred Msadala and Tikuferanji comedian Michael Usi (showbiz name Manganya).
The show suffered early technical glitches. It started around 3.15pm, almost an hour after its scheduled kick-off.
The suspenseful wait was brightened by The Last Fishing Boat soundtrack maker Agorosso. The Afro-jazz singer gave the audience a taste of his magic beats.
The few that turned up were mesmerised by its suspenseful scenes laced with moments of shrewdly calculated humour.
Joyah attributed the low patronage to the timing.
“The turnout was disappointing. Most people were wondering why we had to put it on a weekday, not a weekend. The problem is that most venues were already booked for the weekend. We had no option,” he said.
The patronage could not help but laugh out loud, especially during the scenes involving tourist (Robert Loughlin), Che Yusuf Ali (Hope Chisanu) and Che Yusuf’s third wife Biti Anefa (Flora Suya).
He promised to bring back the film to Blantyre on a weekend to cater for those who missed the Christmas Eve showcase.
However, Mzuzu will not get a second viewing of the X-rated picture. Joyah feels the costs of taking the film to the North are too high.
