Mixed fortunes for Highbrow

 The much hyped Highbrow movie premiered in Malawi on Friday with mixed fortunes. The picture quality is good, but the storyline sort of fails the test.

The movie tells the story of Sergio Sekunda (played by Patrick Mhango) who rises to power as Malawi’s budget director. In his new role, he makes several enemies who will do whatever it takes to eliminate him.

Although the movie was acclaimed for its amazing picture quality and sound, the storyline was not.

The first 20 minutes or so centres on introducing a series of characters, thereby causing some confusion.

The writer’s bid to create suspense left the audience confused as they did not grasp the connection among the characters. Some of the characters seen at the beginning, were lost and lacked relevance to the story. However, the movie had several elements of comedy that brought joy to the packed theatre.

Writer and executive producer of the Cashgate-inspired movie, Chawezi Munthali, known in the film industry as Chaz, said the movie has been a two-year journey filled with ups and downs.

“I would say Covid-19 was one of the biggest challenges we faced during the production of the movie. I am just grateful that it all finally came together and the cast was willing and patient,” he said.

Munthali also said he was inspired by Cashgate scandal that took Malawi by storm.

“I wanted the story to be told in a way that would be interesting so that people would relate to it. The Cashgate scandal was big and it needed to be documented,” said the producer.

Star of the show, Mhango said he was glad to be part of the cast as the opportunity 

 helped him to grow as an actor.

“I love playing the man that controls it all,” he said jokingly.

Mhango said he related to his character a lot.

“He is cocky and confident and I would like to see more of that confidence in me,” he said.

A patron at the premiere, Memory Nkhata said she enjoyed the movie and would like to watch more movies from the local industry.

 Musician Onesimus capped it all through his homecoming performance.

A similar event was held in Blantyre on Saturday.

The production team says they hope Highbrow will be shown in theatres all over the world.

Red carpert, flashing lights and fashionable outfits characterised the launch at the Bingu International Conference Centre in Lilongwe evening