MultiChoice opens talent academy

MultiChoice, owner of pan-African pay TV platforms DSTV and GOtv, has launched a new initiative to boost the African creative industries.

MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) is intended to improve the African film and television industry and comprises three parts: an academy, masterclasses and a portal.

It began with the launch of a regional academy, which offers a 12-month educational curriculum, in Lagos. Others are located in Kenya and Zambia.

Sixty applicants from 13 countries will be admitted to the MTF Academy, which will begin classes on October 1. Applications are currently open and will close on the June 5.

John Ugbe, MD of MultiChoice Nigeria, said: “The film and television industries have not developed at the same pace as other industries on the continent, and not for a lack of talent, passion or imagination. We are abundantly blessed in these areas. However, the space given for this expression has at best been limited and, at worst, been relegated to the fringes of the mainstream economy, leaving in its wake, unfulfilled dreams, unexplored talent and unwritten stories.”

Femi Odugbemi, the director of the MTF Academy, West Africa, said: “We must consciously build capacity so that our next-generation filmmakers and producers can also create wealth and create employment by being entrepreneurs.”

MTF Academy students are expected to produce content for TV and film which will air on DSTV and GOtv.

tagged in: DSTV, Femi Odugbemi, GOtv, John Ugbe, MultiChoice, MultiChoice Talent Factory