After a 6-week selection process, 20 aspiring filmmakers representing Nigeria and Ghana will begin their 12-month training programme in October at the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) West Africa Academy in Lagos. This is the third set of passionate young film creatives comprising the Class of 2022 at the MTF Academy.
The final candidates were selected after a rigorous interview process by the judging panel, which consisted of film and television experts including representatives of the Directors’ Guild of Nigeria (DGN). On the judging panel were pioneer MTF Academy Director, Mr Femi Odugbemi; Film Director and representative of the DGN, Mr Lancelot Imasuen; Film Director and Producer, Ms. Tope Oshin; Film Director, Mr James Omokwe and Director and representative of the DGN, Mrs Patricia Oghre Imobhio.
“At the onset of the pandemic, MTF sought ways to ensure that optimum delivery of our curriculum and critical to this, was leveraging relationships with our strategic partners. This led to even greater opportunities as the Class of 2021 benefited from an intensive 3-week New York Film Academy (NYFA) online training course,” MultiChoice spokesperson said.
Formulated in partnership with NYFA, this course is now part of the MTF curriculum and the new cohort will learn how to produce micro documentaries, public service announcements, television commercials and music videos. This type of training broadens their skillset and allows them to be economically active in various sectors, other than the film industry.
Speaking on what the industry needs and why MTF was founded, CEO MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe said: “The success of any academic programme can be measured by the contribution made by alumni in the industry. A survey was carried out to ascertain how MTF academies are igniting Africa’s creative industries and the findings revealed that from the inaugural class of 2019, 92% are economically active in the industry.”
“As Africa’s most loved storyteller, our commitment is not only to tell authentic African stories but to also invest in them. This is why some of our alumni are working on M-Net and Showmax productions. They are helping us realise the vision of taking African stories to the world with a “hyperlocal” approach, producing relevant content within the respective regions of our continent, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all strategy,” Ugbe said.
The academy’s curriculum is tailored in partnership with the prestigious Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos, which will confer the course qualification upon completion of the academy programme. In addition, The Henley Business School offers an orientation intervention to the students at the beginning and end of the 12-month programme as well as workshops on Business for Creatives focusing on entrepreneurship.
In addition to the academy, MTF also provides resources for industry professionals across Africa. The second pillar, the MTF Masterclass, aims at upskilling industry professionals and emerging creatives alike by offering exclusive access to practical, expert-led industry workshops across the continent. Through these masterclasses, MTF has trained over 1000 creatives since 2019. The third pillar, the MTF Portal is a pan-African digital marketplace for the over 40,000 creatives who are registered and provides access to free online masterclasses and profiling opportunities.
