Multichoice Talent Factory Academy Launches with Promise to Support Film Industry

MultiChoice Africa on Tuesday officially opened the Multichoice Talent Factory Academy in East Africa to allow the continent’s next generation of film and TV storytellers gain the necessary skills for the industry.

The launch took place at the MultiChoice Kenya headquarters in Nairobi alongside MultiChoice partners, stakeholders, dignitaries, and industry professionals. Information and Communication Cabinet Secretary, Joseph Mucheru, officiated the event.

According to Maharage Chande, Northern Region Director at MultiChoice Africa, the key to the longevity of Africa’s culture, industry and storytelling traditions, lie in the opportunities created for established creative professionals to exercise their craft while simultaneously mentoring the next generation.

“The MultiChoice Talent Factory is a critical link to realizing this dream. It is through this lens that we celebrate our investment in the development of future creative leaders, the local economy and reverence for the art of storytelling in the African tradition – truly giving agency to the MultiChoice vision of Enriching Lives,” Chande said

CS Mucheru praised the initiative for supporting the creative industry with skills development in East Africa.

“I am thankful to MultiChoice for the immense investment they are putting into making sure that we have the right being developed and these will be useful for both television and other industries in a film. This will go a long way in ensuring that jobs are being created and increasing the entertainment that customer will access from the content that they will produce. I hope the class of 2018 will be an inspiration to future generations who would aspire to be in this industry,” Mucheru said.

The 20 candidates earlier on selected from across the region will begin their 12-month training program at the Academy this month where they will be provided with skillsets 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.

Notably, the East Africa Academy Director Njoki Muhoho stated that regarding the improvement of quality standards, there have been major strides made over the past two decades.

“Now we need to ask ourselves: What is the East African formula in film and television? This formula is not something formal that is written, but it is visible in every aspect of a piece of work. It is that formula that I am excited to unearth and refine with the candidates of this academy, especially where telling African stories is at the heart of it,” she said

The Director-General, Communications Authority of Kenya, Eng. Francis Wangusi, Principal Secretary, State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunication, Fatuma Hirsi Mohammed, John Kiarie MP Dagoretti South, CEO Kenya Film Classification Board, Dr. Ezekiel Mutua, and Godfrey Mngereza, Executive Secretary at the National Art Council of Tanzania were also in attendance.