In recent years, the local film industry and creators have shown impressive potential to produce quality works.
The past five years has seen some thrilling productions emerge from the local industry. The productions have complemented other initiatives such as the establishment of the Malawi Film Festival to ensure the industry is ticking on all fronts.
There has also been a productive engagement between Filmmakers Association and Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) to work out how filmmakers can earn from their image and copyright.
After a protracted disagreement between the two parties, Cosoma finally budged to allow filmmakers get 70 percent blank media levy funds which it had been withholding. That breakthrough was received as a milestone by the filmmakers.
Regardless, all the movement that has happened in the last two years, it is clear the outlet is not effective and the content is not well-monetised. Because of the status quo, filmmakers continue to struggle to sustain their productions or maintain good quality of their work.
The movie School Days is probably one of the most talked about productions from Malawi. The number of views it amassed were impressive. But the monetary returns remain unimpressive.
Another highlight for the year 2024 was the TV series Mushroom Shade. The production, storyline and members of the cast all combined to good effect. One could be excused for thinking it is not from Malawi.
But after running the initial episodes of the first season, producers Chaz Productions were forced to reflect on the production costs. They said the future of the series depended on how Malawians will support their newly introduced pay and watch model.
The last episode, which was being accessed at K1 000, raked in K4 million. According to producer Chawezi ‘Chaz’ Munthali, the amount is still on the lower side. He remains coy whether the production will continue or not.
Due to the same unsupportive nature, some film producers are failing to complete their movie projects. During the same year, renowned filmmakers Joyce Mhango-Chavula and Flora Suya announced their upcoming film Kamdothi: Dust and Longing long time ago. Despite that, there has been little movement on the ground.
Seasoned filmmaker Charles Shemu Joyah recently released a short movie Strike a Bow and Die. It is designed to raise funds for his long-time planned movie on John Chilembwe’s life.
The production of the movie comes after he exhausted all means to raise funds for the project. That goes to show how corporates in the country are not yet ready to invest in projects of that nature.
It meant artists have to do everything on their own. That has compromised the quality of the productions and also contributed to fatigue.
Some movie makers, who are clearly passionate about the trade, have opted to take a pause. In the end, it is the industry which loses out.
Joyah has ever withheld movies he has produced. He contends that this is part of his efforts to avoid piracy.
“Most Malawians who have watched my movies, have watched pirated versions. That is why I delay releasing them. Unfortunately, Malawians want things for free, without realising that it takes money and effort to produce a good film,” he said.
From the recent trends, it is evident the bottlenecks in the distribution and marketing structure remains the biggest stumbling block to enable the industry realise its full potential.
Maybe it is the reason there were less new productions last year as compared to the past two years.
