What does it take to boost an emerging film industry in Africa? Maurice Malowa is mentoring a new new generation of Zambian film industry professionals. Watch Zambia's own storytellers.
00:01Maurice Maloa started out making beats under the Monica Reido on the urban music scene in Zambia.
00:09Today is a driving force in its film industry.
00:14Reido's music and movies are all over the Zambezi Magic TV channel in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
00:20The movie industry in Zambia has been more on a transitional phase.
00:25Coming from, you know, informal stories, low budget films to more structured and polished stories now.
00:35The stories are powerful and, you know, the passion is undeniable.
00:39But his vision is bigger than production.
00:42He is nurturing the next generation, mentoring writers, editors and actors.
00:48He is creating a pipeline for raw Zambian talents.
00:51As a producer, I tend to create spaces for emerging actors to showcase their talent.
01:05Of course, we partner with schools and we have mentorship workshops.
01:12And also we partner with talent companies like Mxinja Trust.
01:16One such rising star is Gina Zimba.
01:19She featured in the soap opera Mpali and now wants a director's chair.
01:26I can say as the Zambian industry, like the film industry, we have really evolved because we are given opportunities of auditioning.
01:34You can be picked and you are given an opportunity to be in movies.
01:39And now I can say there are people actually that live off acting.
01:43And then there's Josiah Mwanga.
01:46He's already taken on some complex projects, from horror to humor, in front of and behind the camera.
01:54I'm an imaginative person.
01:55So trying to show people how I think and how most writers and directors think.
02:02Saying to say it's a portrayal of different personalities that we have as human beings.
02:09So I may be a bad person in this film.
02:12I may be a good person in this one.
02:14Other people would even hurt you for that.
02:16So what's next for Zambian film?
02:19Rados is a homegrown industry where Zambians tell stories their own way, just like the Nigerians do.
02:27While we look at Nollywood, our idea is not to copy and paste, but to create our own industry with our own stories and that can tell our stories better.
