Down memory lane with ‘school days’

Patrons to the launch of the movie School Days were taken down memory lane to school days when teasing and bullying were part of boarding school life.

The patrons got glued to their seats following the events as they unfolded in the movie co-directed by Kendall Kamwendo and Lawrence Nyale.

The movie starts with Mphatso, a son to a widow, being given advice on how to work hard as he was leaving to start his Form One at a boarding school.

Mphatso, a brilliant but underprivileged boy, heeded his mother ’s advice and worked hard. He was a star and loved by a well-to-do girl in her class to the annoyance of the bullies in the school.

The bullies took no chances, but pounced on all other learners and grabbed their belongings such as money, food items and clothes.

The bullies poked fun at anyone they picked regardless of their physical or mental capabilities.

In one moment, a student with physical disabilities, whose means of mobility was a wheelchair run into one of the bullies who accused him of bringing a ‘car’ in the school campus and got beaten.

The bully kicked off the wheelchair and sat on it before finally pushing it out of the sidewalk.

One weekend, Mphatso’s mother brought him a live chicken, raw pumpkins, horned melons and sugarcane. Mphatso was at pain to explain to his mother that at school they are served with already cooked food.

When the bullies learnt about it, they nicked the live chicken and left him with the spiked melon and the pumpkins which they could not eat.

Mphatso participated in an essay competition, he won with flying colours ahead of learners from schools in the region.

After receiving his prize money, as usual, the bullies wanted to reap where they did not sow, but Mphatso surrendered his money to the headteacher to be withdrawing  based on needs.

The bad boys had other tricks up their sleeves. They took Mphatso to a shabin where they forced him to consume alcohol and smoke marijuana.

Against his will, he smoked, drunk and was sent to school on his own in the dark.

The following morning, Mphatso was found lying dead, a development which confused the bullies.

Now Mphatso was seen the previous evening with the headteacher when he was giving him the money for safe keeping. But it was also a fact that he had communed with the smoking and drinking group.

Could it be that the teacher had planned to kill Mphatso to get the money he was keeping? Or perhaps the boys harassed him and things went wrong, leaving the vulnerable boy dead? Who killed Mphatso, really?

According to Kendall Kamwendo the movie was inspired by the reality which most Malawians, including himself have gone through during school days.

He said he went to secondary school when teasing and bullying were considered normal as part of secondary school life.

Kamwendo said the objective of the movie is to advocate against teasing and bullying.

Premiered on May 5 in Lilongwe, it has already started attracting attention on the international scene.

Kamwendo said that on July 9 the movie will be screened in Germany.

“We are going to have this movie beamed in Germany. We are also going to show it in Scotland and South Africa. This is why we are overwhelmed with the level of support we are receiving,” he said.

Film Association of Malawi president Gift Sukali said School Days movie is good and reflects a serious project that requires support from different stakeholders.

He said projects such as these require concerted efforts by different stakeholders because of their huge budgets.

Sukali further said there is need to make the arts sector conducive for the development and promotion of movies by creating an arts council.

According to Sukali the arts council, it would be easy for government to provide support.

Minister of Tourism, Vera Kamtukule, who graced the premiere, said the movie is good and has potential of promoting the country’s tourism sector.

About the arts council, she said the process is already underway for its formulation.

Kamtukule said: “We already started formulation of the council, but that work has been moved to Ministry of Local Government where I believe that they are making strides“

She further said that as a person, she connected very well with the story in the movie as it reminded her of her secondary school days in Blantyre.