AfroCinema Pop-Up Channel: Celebrating Africa’s Exploits, Cultural Diversity through Film
On the 25th of May every year, Africa Day is celebrated across the continent. It is the annual commemoration of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) establishment on May 25, 1963, now known as the African Union (AU).
Africa Day is about celebrating African unity and success and acknowledging the current challenges while preparing for and deliberating about the future ahead. Years after securing Independence, many African countries are still battling leadership/political challenges.
Source: UGC
From the terrorism in Nigeria to the unrest in Chad, the rising tensions in Mali, Ethiopia/Tigray and others, it’s undeniable that the continent has many challenges it’s contending with.
However, to look at the African continent from the above prism alone is to fall into what the multi-award-winning Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Adichie, tagged “the danger of a single story” in her classic Ted Talks speech.
Despite the numerous challenges in the political/leadership sector, Africa, for instance, has continued to make waves and break boundaries in the world of arts and culture.
From Lagos, Nigeria to Nairobi in Kenya, Accra in Ghana, Johannesburg in South Africa and many other cities and towns on the continent, African creatives are now gaining massive recognitions across the world.
Nigeria’s film industry, popularly known as Nollywood, is the second-largest film industry in the world.
South Africa’s film industry, just like others on the continent, does not just provide entertainment; it plays a significant role in the South African economy.
The industry is reportedly worth around R3.5 billion to the South African economy annually.
Through collaboration and turning challenges into possibilities, Nollywood and other film industries across Africa have produced award-winning productions that have launched the careers of many directors, producers, and stars while also taking the “for us, by us” African stories global.
Source: UGC
The African music industry has also grown exponentially to become one of the largest employers of the youths on the continent and arguably the best export, alongside the film industry, to the other parts of the world.
The music sector stepped into a new height when Nigeria's Afrobeats stars Burna Boy and Wizkid won awards at the 2021 Grammys.
Meanwhile, the story of Africa’s exploits in the film and music industries can never be complete without highlighting the roles being played by the MultiChoice Group.
Through creative initiatives such as the Africa Magic channels and MultiChoice Talent Factory, MultiChoice has continued to provide enabling platforms for African creatives, filmmakers and others, to not only showcase their talents/skills but also make good money off them.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard in 2020 and forced creatives and others indoors, MultiChoice Nigeria creatively intervened with the introduction of some programmes such as Owanbe Saturday and Turn Up Friday. These interventions ensured creatives get "gigs" during the challenging period while Nigerians get entertained as they observed the COVID-19 lockdown measures.
To mark Africa Day 2021, Multichoice has now launched a pop-up movie channel; AfroCinema. The channel is dedicated to showcasing and celebrating the talent and resilience of Africa's ever-growing film industry amid the coronavirus pandemic. Launched Friday, May 21, the channel is available to both DSTV and GOtv customers till Sunday, May 30.
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For DSTV customers on Premium, Compact Plus, Compact, Confam and Yanga packages, AfroCinema is on channel 198. It is available to GOtv customers on Max and Jolli packages on channel 29. Amazingly, AfroCinema is also available via the DStv app to stream.
One of the movies to look out for on the pop-up channel is Bling Lagosians, a movie that revolves around a wealthy Lagos family. It tells the story of the Holloway matriarch who is obsessed with throwing a lavish birthday party while her husband fights to keep the family business from closing. It premieres on Saturday, May 29, at 10.30 pm.
Other movies to premiere on the channel include 94 Terror (Uganda), Naisula (Kenya), and Payback (Zambia).
Like other previous creative interventions by MultiChoice, AfroCinema does not only celebrate African filmmakers and the industry, it also promotes the continent’s cultural diversity.
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Source: Legit.ng
