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Joyah’s lessons from Berlin

Local film creative Charles Shemu Joyah has lauded the lessons he has learnt from the 10-day Berlin International Film Festival he has attended in Germany.

The filmmaker says apart from his interaction with some of the revered names in the movie world, his participation in the festival has opened eyes on how to source funding for his future movie projects.

From Berlin with lessons Joyah

Joyah said during the study tour, which was facilitated by the German ambassador, he held discussions with representatives from funding institutions such as the World Cinema Fund who offered insights on how one can apply for funding.

“I now have better ideas about how I can apply. I will take advantage of that when I will be making my next project proposals. It is hard to make an outstanding film without funds. No matter how much you try you will still come short in some way,” he said.

Joyah was part of 24 filmmakers from different countries across the world. From Africa there was Joyah himself and other representatives from Namibia, Uganda and Libya. He also had the opportunity to watch the Hollywood Malawian inspired movie The Boy Who harnessed The Wind.

But perhaps the epitome of it all was the screening of his movie The Road To Sunrise at the Kino in Kunstlerhaus in Hannover on Monday night. After the screening of the movie he had a Question and Answer session on the movie.

It was an experience he has described as great and amazing: “I was impressed with how people related to the movie despite many parts being in Chichewa of course with English subtitles. Most people enjoyed it nonetheless. That is how amazing the power of art is.”

The Berlin International Film Festival usually called the Berlinale is held annually in Berlin, Germany and was founded in 1951. The festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of the big three film festivals alongside the Venice Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.

With around 300,000 tickets sold and 500,000 admissions each year, it has the largest public attendance of any annual film festival. Up to 400 films are shown in several sections across cinematic genres.

Joyah was listed for the Festival with the help of the German Ambassador who was left impressed by his work on The Road To Sunrise after watching during its launch in 2017.

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