MultiChoice Southern Africa, in collaboration with the Zambian Institute for Mass Communication (ZAMCOM), opened the doors to the MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy this week. Hosted by Namibian’s own David Mbeha and Zambian actress Mwaka Mugala, the event was graced with representatives from various sectors of government, business and the entertainment fraternity. The evening was a culmination of constructive stakeholder engagements between MultiChoice, government institutions and key industry players in the formation of the one year academic programme which will encompass the training, mentorship and development in the film industry. The 20 students who underwent a grueling interview process hail from seven countries within the Southern African region namely Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia. These students are the first intake and will be trained in the various aspects of film production. Berry Lwando, Academy Director stated that the project aims to ignite Africa’s creative industry. “We want to be part of the solution that helps to proactively grow this skills base uniting the African film sector into one formalised, professional industry,” said Lwando. He added that skilled and experienced professionals in this industry are scarce. Namibia’s Minister of Information, Communication and Technology, Stanley Simataa said this project will propel talent and skills development for the quality content production, which, in his view, needs to be a catalyst for the African story, by its own people. Namibian contemporary street style dancer Aishe Lenga said that it’s time for Africans, especially Namibians take a look outside the box of entertainment and education and how they complement one another. Namibian representatives Esther Beukes, Toivo Ashivudhi and Sally Jason have experiential and theoretical backgrounds ranging from graphics designing to radio production. “I know this is a privilege many don’t have access to. We are really honoured and ready to take on the tasks,” said Ashivudhi.