Shemu Joyah at Chanco today

Barely a week after seasoned poet Bright Molande delivered a poetry lecture at Chancellor College (Chanco), a constituent college of the University of Malawi (Unima), renowned film-maker Shemu Joyah is also heading to Chanco today for a similar task.

Joyah told The Nation on Wednesday that he is expected to give a talk on film-making and take questions from both students and the public.

“I am looking forward to a fruitful meeting with both the students and members of the general public. This is a special gathering for students and experts that want to explore the film industry,” he said.

According to Joyah, Chanco students study his films; hence, his invitation to give a deep insight into the industry.

“This is going to be a fruitful meeting, particularly for students who have been wondering how I came up with my films. It will be their opportunity to interact with me and ask relevant questions pertaining to film making,” he said.

He added that it is an honour for the University of Malawi to incorporate the works of indigenous Malawians for learning purposes.

Joyah is a renowned Malawian writer and filmmaker who has never attended film school, yet he directs and produces good quality films that have won international awards.

Since his active attachment to film production in 2006 when he bought his first digital camera, Joyah has released two award-winning films—The Last Fishing Boat and Seasons of a Life.

Seasons of a Life is a film about a teenage nanny who is impregnated by her employer, who pays for her education to keep her quiet, which won seven awards apart from being premiered at different international festivals such as Zanzibar Film Festival.

Joyah is a land surveyor by profession but loves to define himself more as a filmmaker than anything else because he grew up loving movies. n