Film association organises first-ever Malawi Film Festival, with awards up for grabs

Domestic film players under the Film Association of Malawi are organizing the first Malawi Film Festival, which will feature awards and films.

Malawi: Malawi's film industry is poised to reshape the future of local film production and marketing.

Domestic film players under the Film Association of Malawi are organizing the first Malawi Film Festival, which will feature awards and films.

The film festival, titled 'FILM MAKING FOR SOCIAL ECONOMIC GROWTH AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION,' will be held at the Golden Peacock Hotel in Lilongwe on November 25th and 26th, 2022.

On Monday, when this publication attempted to contact the President of the Film Association of Malawi, Gift Sukali, also known as "Sukez" in the film industry, for more information about the upcoming event, his phone rang unanswered.

However, in a recent interview with print media, Sukez stated that the film industry lacks many elements that would allow it to thrive, and that the Malawian government is not doing enough to support it.

He said: "To be honest, as creatives we do not have a government body that looks at our welfare and things that can help us to do better apart from the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Culture which is rather broad.

"As of now in Africa, it is only Malawi which does not have an Arts Council to look at the promotion of the arts industry. This makes the arts industry look a little disorganized.”

He also told the same paper (The Nation) then: “When we want to perform, we go to hotels and golf clubs. This is an indication that we lack a lot.”

Sukali mentioned arts theatres, cinema centres, and other structures that could house these art activities.

Through the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the Malawi government stated that it would address some of the film-makers' concerns.

Malawi has recently seen a surge in local film productions, with some even receiving nominations for international film festivals.