By Merit Ibe, [email protected]
The MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) is an initiative that offers eligible applicants the opportunity to improve their skills and ultimately contribute to the growth of the African film and broadcasting industries. MTF West Africa Hub Academy Director, Atinuke Babatunde, spoke with Daily Sun on how the four-year-old initiative has increased the capacity of young entrepreneurs who are passionate about telling their own stories.
With over 20 years experience spanning entertainment, branding, research, media management, marketing and strategy, Atinuke’s key focus is to drive the development of Nigeria’s creative industry through the MultiChoice Talent Factory as well as expand the capacity of already practising professionals.
According to her, about 50 percent of alumni of the academy are now employers of labour and consulting for multinationals.
MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF)
MTF is a shared value initiative that was created by MultiChoice in 2018 to give back to the society. We have been doing so much in the industry and we felt there was a gap in the area of training. It is one thing to create content, buy content and run platforms but we needed to train and increase capacity for people to be more knowledgeable and impactful, so, we started MTF with the aim of training and empowering the creative industries across Africa. MTF is here to impact lives, train and mentor young people in the creative space.
In the academy we also have the economy in mind as we don’t focus on the creative aspect alone. We also teach the business side. That is why we are in partnership with the Henley Business School. They take our students on business; on how to do business and generate revenue.
We have what we call the alumni care, where we still connect alumni of the academy to productions like MNet MultiChoice productions.
The MTF programme is an opportunity for African film and TV content creators. There are so many stories on our continent that need to be told and documented with a sense of skill and passion that only a programmes such as the MTF Academy can train young people to do.
The curriculum combines film studies such as directing, sound, design and the business of film with workplace experience on Africa Magic and SuperSports top productions. The 12-month fully funded programme is open to candidates from Nigeria and Ghana for the West Africa Academy which is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
MasterClass
The factory operates in three regions; the West African region in Nigeria, the Eastern region in Kenya and the Southern region in Zambia. We have the portal where filmmakers across Africa share ideas, collaborate and synergise for a more developed industry, then we have the Masterclasses, where we literally train veterans in improving the industry. For the masterclass, once it is announced, interested filmmakers register and attend the classes which are either physical or virtual lessons; and finally, there is the Academy where we train 60 students for one year on the art and business of filmmaking. At the moment, students who qualify for the academy are drawn from 16 African countries which make up the three regions. While there may be plans to extend to other African countries later, for now, our focus is on these 16 countries that have shown a potential to be great African filmmaking hubs.
Impact
The impact has been immense. We have had two sets that have graduated from the academy. So, for all the regions, we have trained 120 people and counting. In the West African academy, we have seen the effect of the academy on employment across Nigeria and Ghana as some of our alumni have gone on to start their own production companies, employed labour and produced locally for multinational platforms across the world. Some of our alumni have gone also on to facilitate trainings in other film schools and training platforms. So, the MTF has had a ripple effect and impact both on individuals and on the industry.
Qualification
To be eligible to participate in the MTF Academy, applicants must have a qualification from a registered and/or recognised post-secondary education institution and have experience in the film industry.
Applicants who hold a qualification must be between 18-30 years of age; be citizens and residents of the countries from which they are selected by MultiChoice to participate in the MTF Academy initiative, namely Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe; be fluent in English in terms of speaking, reading and writing; demonstrate passion for the drama, film, television and entertainment industry during selection interviews and have completed a relevant qualification from an accredited and/or recognised tertiary education institution in drama, film, television or a related media field, within the last 2 years.
Anyone who is driven, committed to developing skills and interested in participating in the MTF Academy and meets the eligibility criteria can register on www.multichoicetalentfactory.com to be a part of the different expressions. The application for the academy just closed a few days ago, so for now, anyone interested should apply next year.
Online/physical platforms
Both are impactful. Some trainings are online while others are physical. During the pandemic we were forced to go just online but now, we are back to having physical MasterClasses. At the academy, while some courses are purely online, all the students will receive hands-on training as part of the programme.
Challenges
Major challenges especially in the academy which is a 12-month course is letting people know that coming into the academy there are certain things that need to be unlearned so that you can go to the basics and learn the proper thing the proper way. So, we have experts from across the world that take them through the classes. Most students find it difficult to adapt to the new way but with time, they progress.
Partnership
All students receive enhanced training experience from the Academy’s partnerships, which include the New York Film Academy (NYFA), the Henley Business School, Dolby and Canon. Canon is a camera company, which does most of the cinematography while Dolby is a sound company. Locally, we are in partnership with the Pan-Atlantic University, they accredit the certificates issued out to the students and we have the support of most of the industry stakeholders and the guilds.
Curriculum
For the new academic year, we are improving the curriculum. We are bringing in new courses like effects, animation and others. We will also drop some courses. Following the trend of things now, we are intensifying our partnership with stakeholders both locally and internationally to make the academy stronger.