- They are part of 3rd cohort selected for a year’s fully funded programme
MultiChoice Africa recently announced the next generation of passionate young film creatives for the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) Academy hubs in Nairobi, Lagos and Lusaka as part of the Class of 2022.
After a six-week selection process across 13 African countries, 60 aspiring filmmakers representing East Africa, Southern Africa and West Africa will begin their 12-month training programme at the MTF Academies in October this year. Larona Dichaba and Refilwe Podi are the two candidates selected from Botswana.
The final candidates were selected after a rigorous interview and adjudication process by film and television experts, as well as regional Academy Directors. Now in its third year, the MultiChoice Talent Factory has honed the skills of 120 emerging filmmakers in 13 countries across the continent who are now part of the growing MTF alumni network, taking African stories to the world.
The success of any academic programme can be measured by the contribution made by alumni in the industry. To find out how MTF academies are igniting Africa’s creative industries, MTF carried out an annual survey and found that 92 percent of those who participated in the survey from of the inaugural class of 2019 are economically active in the industry.
According to CEO General Entertainment and Connected Video, Yolisa Phahle, this is exactly what the industry needs and why MTF was launched. “As Africa’s most loved storyteller, our commitment is not only to tell authentic African stories but to also invest in them,” Phahle says. “That is why some of our alumni are working on M-Net and Showmax productions.
We currently have alumni in seven countries working on M-Net and Showmax productions and the list keeps growing. They are helping us to realise the vision of taking African stories to the world with a ‘hyperlocal’ approach, producing relevant content within the respective regions of our continent, as opposed to a one-size-fit-all strategy.”
The academy’s curriculum was tailored alongside MultiChoice Africa partner institutions, Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos, Kenyatta University in Nairobi, and the University of Zambia in Lusaka, which will respectively confer the course qualification upon completion of the academy programme.
In addition, The Henley Business School offers an orientation intervention to the students at the beginning and end of the 12-month programme, as well workshops on Business for Creatives focusing on entrepreneurship.