Botswana: The Film office stakeholders hosted a stakeholder meeting with the filmmaking industry stakeholders in Ramotswa. MYSC South-East District Coordinator, Minkie Bokole commended the Film Office for their constant efforts to promote Film Development.
The Ministry stakeholders have toured the country bringing the programme to various Districts of Botswana.
Bokole highlighted the success of the event and its importance for the development of the filmmaking sector. She added that this programme provides filmmakers a leg up in the creation of jobs by giving them opportunities in the film industry.
She added that the programme funded (2) scripts for the Short-Films Pidi-Pidi and Lentswe la Baratani in 2023. The films were picked for production from her District.
The Coordinator of the Film Office, Gaonyatswe Kwalate, revealed that the Film Office deals with the preservation of artistic and cultural heritage through film. She urged filmmakers to create compelling stories that are relatable across cultural divides.
The office is a part of the Department of Arts and Culture in the ministry of Youth, Gender, Sports and Culture. Eric Paulo from the Film Office, indicated that nationwide screening tours are a strategy to encourage Batswana to consume local content.
He went on to say that the establishment of the Film Commission after the enactment of the Cinematograph Bill of 2022 by Parliament, will lead to the regulation of the Film and Video industry of Botswana and will promote film production and talent scouting in Botswana.
Mandla Mogomotsi, the District Film Coordinator, stated that the 2023 Film productions had some technical production gaps. The films lacked some aspects such as the audio quality which made them unfit for release
He noted that the filmmakers across the districts created the content independently without the assistance of production mentors. As such, he underlined the significance of mentoring to close the identified gaps.
Meshack Mosime, the Director of the funded short film-Pidipidi , applauded the Film Office for this noble initiative which is aimed at developing film production at district level. He mentioned that using a single character to play multiple roles in the short film and adding voice overs are some of the challenges his team faced during production.
The District Film Development Capacity Building, Short film screenings and Now! upgraded IPTV platform activations will continue in Goodhope from the 11th-12th.