18 Nov 2019

The 2018 MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) alumni, Serena Mmifinyana and Nikita Mokgware are set to grow the country’s film industry.

Sponsored by MultiChoice Africa, the two content producers went through a rigorous 12 month film training programme in Nigeria last year, honing and sharpening their skills within the film and television industry.

 The sponsorship covered tuition, accommodation and stipend for the duration of the training.

They were awarded certificates for the Zambia University accredited training programme during a graduation ceremony held at Zambia Institute of Mass Communication (ZAMCOM) last year.

The graduation ceremony is held on a rotational basis by Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia. MTF aims at supporting and encouraging excellence in filmmaking at post tertiary education level.

BOPA caught up with the two recently at a Maitisong event organised to raise funds for their upcoming trip to South Africa to attend the Johannesburg film festival and DISCOP Expo, one of the largest content buying expos in Africa, slated for later this month.

Mokgware said they were fully equipped with skill sets to develop their talent, connect with industry professionals and tell authentic African stories through a comprehensive curriculum comprising theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience in cinematography, editing, audio production and storytelling.

“We are ready, open and accessible to take this industry to the next level, as we have learned a lot during the programme from producing television and film content.

 We left the Southern Africa MultiChoice Talent Factory with the knowledge and skills to contribute professionally to Africa’s film and television industry,” she stated.

For her part, Mmifinyana said they were exposed to MTF master classes aimed at upskilling industry professionals and emerging creative minds and offered exclusive access to practical, expert-led industry skills. “We were involved in different projects, being the Zombie Apocalypse, The Final Stand, Savannah Skies and The Painting.

We learnt a lot including that collaboration is key in this industry,” she said. The two alumni worked on two films chosen for funding by Zambezi Magic to be featured on their channel, The Painting and Savannah Skies.

Mokgware co-wrote the script and worked as art director while Mmifinyane also co-wrote, supervised the script and was foley artist in the film. Currently co-writers of Duma FM’s Madimajwana radio drama, they plan to do productions locally to tell Botswana stories, different shows and short drama stories. Ends