Local film industry could grow

Nkululeka Nkala

This is me thinking out loud . . . It could be driven by that I am in the middle of a film shoot (Insuku Zokucina), or that I just watched a movie titled Eye in The Sky. It feels weird though, like I wrote this article before. I remember how excited the arts industry was over digitisation.

From nowhere there was a promise for light. TV was going to change, stars born and money made. I am still excited but not at the same levels and hopes that I had.

See here is the thing, I think Government needs to be applauded for wanting to see the digitisation drive through.

BAZ are busy trying to make sure things are happening on the ground.

Excuse that I am involved in one of the projects they are pushing, interesting TV is definitely coming. Two other projects are being shot in the City, two amazing concepts. Goes without saying that new TV should be up by now and that more and more projects should be on production so when the time comes, we wona��t be bored stiff by repeats of the same things. 6 television channels are no childa��s play.

Back to the Hollywood blockbuster Eye in The Sky. That film further cemented South Africaa��s film industry as favourite to Hollywood. Again South African actors benefited. Starring alongside world renowned Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul and Michael Oa��keefe is huge as it is.

I will need a full article to list the movies featuring South Africans or that have been shot in South Africa and have gone to make Box Office. Coming back home,A� I think the last movie to gain world acclaim and be shot in Zimbabwe was The Power of One. Not that we do not have actors plying their trade in the states, Chirisa Arnold is there, so is Danai. We have amazing landscape and talent too. Though sometimes people do not agree, sanctions have impacted negatively on us.

Back to South Africa. Their TV is no doubt booming as an industry, look at the quality and diversity of the programming. Their actors are being paid handsomely. They are real celebrities (compared to our own). No matter what language they are in, their programmes have a serious following and the confidence of film makers is at an all-time high. A few years back we watched District 13, a film about Aliens. Made in South Africa. A few months back, they went one better by releasing a super hero series.

The series is called Jongo. Young kids now have a hero they can relate to. All we have known is Superman, Spiderman, Thor, Captain America and Flash. The super heroa��s powers maybe similar to those of the foreign heroes but in some funny way one can relate. The film features popular faces who have starred in films like Generations.
So again I say it. We have a lot of stories to tell as a country.

Imagine how many stories can come out of the liberation struggle and our day to day lives. All we need is a little support from the Government and corporate sector. We have the personnel, skill, material and the talent. Until next week, be safe . . .