MultiChoice Malawi teams up with Joyah
MultiChoice Malawi has announced a partnership with multi-award winning filmmaker Charles Shemu Joyah which will see the two working together in helping the latter screen his latest award-winning movie The Road To Sunrise.
MultiChoice Malawi general manager Gus Banda announced the partnership yesterday during a meeting with local creatives and journalists in Blantyre.
He said Joyah’s movie has proved to be a good production which is only being betrayed by the absence of an effective marketing machinery; hence, their decision to come in and help.
Banda said: “We will invite stakeholders, potential investors and our subscribers to come and see what the son of Malawi has given the world. In this way, we will be able to give Shemu the platform that he so badly needs and deserves from us Malawians.”
Reacting to the news, Joyah said: “This is a welcome development. We are here to create the content which can sell. But we may not have the capacity in terms of how to best market that content and any help in that area will make a huge difference to our cause.”
Details of the working relationship are yet to be clearly defined.
The Road to Sunrise won the Best Movie in Southern Africa during the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award.
It was also nominated in seven categories at the recently-held African Movie Academy Awards.
Meanwhile, Banda has urged players in the creative industry to find means to unleash their potential and show the world that Malawi is a force in the industry.
He said although the industry is beset by so many challenges, there is huge potential which can put Malawi on the map.
“What the local film industry has achieved so far is promising. You look at the likes of Shemu Joyah and what he has produced and the number of nominations that our actors have received on the international stage. There is just so much potential,” Banda said.
He said it is in the same vein that they will continue to explore various avenues that will benefit local players so that the industry achieves the required growth.
He said: “We want to take the filmmakers through the entire value chain so that they understand the issues of risk, return, investment, producing quality work and train them so that they have clear understanding of what things potential investors are interested in.
Meanwhile, MultiChoice has sent two young Malawians, Chimwemwe Mkwezalamba and Jonathan Kapumba, to participate in the inaugural class of 2018 Talent Factory taking place in Zambia.
