By Our Reporter
Four Ugandan students have been selected to join the next cohort of the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) academy as part of the Class of 2022.
The final candidates were selected after a rigorous interview and adjudication process by film and television experts, as well as regional Academy Directors.
The selected Ugandan students include; Nassanga Ann, Justine Nabunya, Phillip Sentamu and Tusabe Ivan.
The Class of 2022 will feature 60 aspiring filmmakers representing East Africa, Southern Africa and West Africa. They will begin their 12-month training programme MTF Academies in October this year.
Now in its third year, the MultiChoice Talent Factory has honed the skills of 120 emerging filmmakers in 13 countries across the continent, who are now part of the growing MTF alumni network, taking African stories to the world.
Multichoice Uganda in 2019 took on the first cohort of students who have since progressed into contributors of the Uganda film industry.
In a statement, Joan Semanda Kizza the PR and Communications manager MultiChoice Uganda said, “Our alumni from the MTF program continue to make us proud each and every single day. Platforms like MTF have allowed us to foster the development of our film industry through our skilling and equipping program for all film makers.”
“We are excited about the 3rd Cohort and wish all of our incoming students the best of luck. We encourage them to take this training seriously as history has proven to us that MTF has been a gateway to great openings and opportunities in the film and television industry to most of our alumni students,” she added.
The academy’s curriculum was tailored alongside MultiChoice Africa partner institutions Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos, Kenyatta University in Nairobi, and the University of Zambia in Lusaka, which will respectively confer the course qualification upon completion of the academy programme.
In addition, The Henley Business School offers an orientation intervention to the students at the beginning and end of the 12-month programme as well workshops on Business for Creatives focussing on entrepreneurship.
In addition to the academy, MTF also provides resources for industry professionals across Africa. The second pillar, the MTF masterclass initiatives is aimed at upskilling industry professionals and emerging creatives alike by offering exclusive access to practical, expert-led industry skills workshops across the continent. Through these masterclasses, MTF has trained over 1000 creatives since 2019. The MTF Portal is a third pillar, a pan-African digital market-place for the over 40 000 creatives who are registered which provides access to free online masterclasses and profiling opportunities.