Botswana: The Film Office under the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture is currently conducting district short film screenings. They have also organized the IPTV roadshow across different districts in Botswana.
The event was attended by a number of stakeholders from the entertainment industry. The  short film screening and roadshow was hosted as a part of the stakeholder engagement meeting.
The meeting was hosted on Saturday in Ghanzi. Content Acquisition in the film office, Legae Digwaamaje deliveted a brief address for the stakeholders.
The aim of the initiative is to increase the awareness about the film making and creative sector. The Ministry is working hard to encourage more and more participation in the field of filmmaking.
They want to train more talented individuals to venture into the filmmaking industry, The country has been working towards capacity building in the field for several years.
Digwaamaje stated that the District Development Capacity Building Programme aims to raise awareness on the film industry. Through the initiative, they also want and inculcate and learn new skills from film practitioners in various districts.
The film office aims to host a mentorship for filmmakers on quality content creation among other issues. The ministry also hosted the district film development competition to highlight the
The stakeholders also looked back on the previous District Film Development Capacity Building Programme.
The event was held in 2023 with several filmmakers benefiting from the government backed project. Digwaamaje noted that 12 districts participated and 13 scripts were funded for production. The Ministry has spent approximately P350 000.000 as per Now! Channel Content aggregation rate card.
The winners of the district film development competition will be announced after the nationwide screening tour. Creatives had the opportunity to appreciate the screening of the district film development short films and voted for the viewers choice film.
The Film Office will continue with the first phase of the roadshow in Shakawe, Maun, Kasane, Francistown, Selebi Phikwe and Palapye.
Stakeholders were also introduced to the upgraded Now! IPTV platform. The platform is accessible on the internet through the domain https://nowtv.gov.bw .