When film industry grew amid Covid-19
The year 2020 will go down in history as aone when the whole world went down on its knees while unified in fighting a common enemy.
For a great part of the year, local artists were affected by the Covid-19 global pandemic as they could not hold outdoor activities which mostly, are their main source of income.
The meltdown from the global pandemic had an impact on the growth of the teething industry.
However, in attempting to adapt to the changes brought by the coronavirus while also avoiding getting rusty, filmmakers Flora Suya and Brenda Mselu teamed up to produce short films.
In partnership with HD Plus Creations, the clips depicting love as a theme and airing on YouTube were aimed at keeping the actors busy.
In a fresh interview, Mselu said: “The clips are being edited. We should start screening them by next week.”
Besides this initiative, Suya was also the brains behind a new television series called Anansi, featuring a family and depicting challenges like health related problems within a household and community.
Airing every Wednesday on Times TV, the soapie is one of the local film industry’s babies, born after Covid-19 cases in the country had started going down.
The filmmaker also finished the year on a high as she earned a role on one of Zambia’s top rated TV soap opera’s Zuba.
She is starring as Kasausya, a designer who falls in love with a Zambian man in the series which features on Zambezi Magic Channel.
Before the bug took over, the African Theatre magazine celebrated Malawian movie maker and actress, Joyce Mhango Chavula. Her appearance in the revered African publication was an endorsement of both her prowess and the country’s theatre being on the right path.
The South Africa-based magazine highlighted the achievements and the difference she has made since joining the industry.
Actress Lily Banda continued from where she left off in 2019 following her feature on Netflix’s The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
She was decorated as one of the continent’s leading young change makers by the Africa 35.35 awards.
Banda was hailed for her exceptional work by being “a committed singer and actress. A fervent defender of women’s and children’s rights, she received in 2015 the African Union Young Hero Award, for her feminist and social commitment.”
The year also saw the premiering of a movie shot in the Gambia led by the country’s actress and filmmaker, Lilian Azizi.
While Can’t Have it All was trending in Banjul where Azizi is based, it also got an enthusiastic response in the country during the premier in March. It is a story of four female friends whose seemingly perfect friendship takes a huge twist after a huge secret comes out.
Joining the ranks of those that dropped films this year was Cathreen Mlenga. The budding filmmaker released Sowing Seeds, a production portraying the challenges that some Malawian rural girls’ face, through the life of a 16-year-old who fell pregnant while in secondary school and was forced into marriage.
One of the biggest news of 2020 globally was the release of a musical film and visual album by a 24-time Grammy winner, Beyonce.
Queen Bey went scouting for African talents to be featured on her project news that was met with excitement from the artists and fans alike.
While for most Malawians it was a forgone conclusion that no local talent will make the cut, actress Connie Chiume, who is half Malawian, as she traces her paternal roots in Usisya, Nkhata Bay, and South African, featured on Black is King.
The Salawian as she calls herself, played Sarabi – Simba’s mother in the visual album.
“I don’t know how to describe it. But it was so exciting from the time I was told about working on Beyonce’s music video.
“She is a big name, whether we like it or not and I am sure a lot of people look out to be associated with her. It was an absolute pleasure,” said Chiume in an interview then.
Prior to that, Chiume started the year with a debut appearance
