‘We will eventually release hard copies of Fatsani’

Probably for the first time, a local movie Fatsani: A Tale of Survival is on streaming giant Showmax. The streaming company streams in over 66 countries and that guarantees the movie a milestone. Back home, local movie lovers have complained that the movie makers were taking forever to release it. Our arts editor EDITH GONDWE linked up with one of Fatsani directors Gift Sukez Sukali to discuss about its success, its streaming on Showmax and the viewers reaction to it, among other things. 

Fatsani is one of the local movies which has been on demand for sometime, but you as the production team held on to it for a while. What inspired you to wait before releasing it?

Well, releasing a movie takes a process most people that follow international movies would agree to this. We had to follow the right steps before releasing our movie. It was not necessarily that we were holding it, but the process kept us and Malawians waiting, but we really thank Malawians for waiting for it. Their anticipation was the support we needed.

The movie has become the first local movie to stream on Showmax. How have you managed to clinch this deal?

Well, when we had the final movie we started submitting it for international festivals. One thing led to another and we have been in talks with several distributors, including others expressing interest in getting our movie. When we went to Zambia, that is when we were introduced to Showmax distributors who saw our film and we started talking about other details from there.

We have noted the interest among Malawians on Showmax rise after Fatsani got onto it. How is the movie doing in terms of streaming?

: Well, Showmax is getting more new subscribers from the country and that is good for the local movie industry in general because next movies from Malawi will easily find a path since now Showmax has better numbers of subscribers.

We have seen some very harsh reviews of the movie. How do you take in some of the criticism?

In terms of the movie, it is doing tremendously good and we are encouraged. Just last week, we were in the top 20 of the most streamed movies on this international platform. That is not a minor achievement to us. We can only hope for the best. In terms of harsh reviews, we understand that some people had different reasons of insulting or giving us harsh reviews. That is expected of every movie. Some will love some will not. We had a meeting with the team to look into the reviews and see where we can improve next time. We have also established right communication channels as to where people can send their sober reviews straight to our office. We are taking all criticism into account and we will try to improve in our next projects.

What is your plan for the future and what advice can you give to fellow movie makers?

My advice to all movie makers is let’s work together; the movie industry will not be the same in the next few years. There is light at the end of the tunnel and the movie industry will grow. This is the right time to stand up and make good productions.

Do you still have plans to produce hard copies of the movie for sales?

Plans of hard copies are still there. We will make hard copies after the deals we are making with these international platforms end. Fatsani is here to stay and people that want hard copies will have access to it soon. For now, the movie is streaming exclusive on Showmax until April, and if there is an extension we will notify people.n