MultiChoice Talent Factory West Africa Academy Gives Scholarship To 20 Film, Television Students
MultiChoice has announced that it is sponsoring 20 young and talented Students in film and television in its Class of 2024 MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) West Africa Academy in Lagos. The students consisting of a diverse group of males and females from Nigeria and Ghana, were chosen after a rigorous six-week selection process of interviews and adjudication by film and television experts, as well as regional academy directors.
Speaking at the welcome session held for the 2024 cohort, the CEO of West Africa at MultiChoice, John Ugbe encouraged the new intakes to take a firm hold of the opportunities open to them.
In his words, “Start this journey with an open mind ready to unlearn old ways and learn the value that the structure of the MTF provides. The MTF Academy presents you with priceless opportunities for access and resources with which you can grow and expand the horizons of your careers”.
Also speaking at the session, MTF West Africa Academy Director, Atinuke Ngozi Babatunde said, “Every year, a new set of MTF graduates are released into the West African film and television industry, and they inject fresh ideas, energy and enthusiasm into the local creative sector.
Last year, our students achieved great success, with some already entering negotiations with Africa Magic to show their films on the channel. We are proud to be shaping Africa’s creative industries and excitedly look forward to working with this year’s cohort.”
Speaking further Babatunde said, “As Africa’s most loved storyteller, MultiChoice sees the MTF Academy as an investment in our business and the future of our industry, many MTF graduates later join MultiChoice productions, while others start their businesses and become our partners and suppliers in the industry.”
She explained that the rich experience at the MTF is made possible through partnerships. In West Africa, the MTF Academy curriculum is designed in partnership with one of Nigeria’s most prestigious universities – the Pan Atlantic University (PAU) in Lagos, which confers qualifications to students upon completion of the programme.
Speaking on the international scene, she said that partnerships with the world-renowned New York Film Academy (NYFA) and Zee World, one of Nigeria’s most loved Bollywood channels, contribute to significantly enriching the learning experience of MTF students. The final stage of the course sees students developing feature films for broadcast on MultiChoice’s local channels and Showmax.
Babatunde stated that this year’s MTF Academy intake follows in the footsteps of several highly successful cohorts of students who have won awards, had their work shown on major platforms and gone on to great career success.
Three productions from the MTF Class of 2023 students – The Delectable Azeezah Sama, Dark Echoes, and With Love from Bayelsa – received nominations at international film festivals. Many alumni have commissioning discussions with Akwaaba Magic and Africa Magic while several others work on Africa Magic productions.
“We welcome this year’s MTF students to the MultiChoice family and look forward to thoroughly equipping them to take African stories to the world, and produce relevant, hyperlocal content for markets across the continent,” she concluded.