Malawi’s renowned filmmaker and actress Flora Suya has called for combined efforts in the local movie industry if its status is to face elevation.
Suya, a towering giant in local cinema, is among a countable figures making strides in building the country’s movie industry. As such she believes that if there is teamwork among players in the industry there will be an increase in speed of growth.
In response to an emailed interview with Malawi24 last week, she pointed out lack of seriousness among filmmakers and working in isolation as main challenges hampering Malawi’s creative industry.
“Our lack of seriousness in most cases and the fact that filmmakers in Malawi don’t work together. There is more of competition than teamwork,” she said
The movie star argues lack of teamwork is detrimental to the industry as the building process will take a snail’s pace.
“Let’s face it, we are all learning and if we feel like we don’t need each other in building our film industry, we will continue walking at a snail’s pace.”
When asked about what she thinks the government can do to promote the creative industry, the Blantyre based filmmaker cum actress said Malawians have to think outside the box. This is in consideration of the fact that the government has got its own priorities hence it’s time to explore other avenues to help.
Suya got into the limelight in 2010 having featured on Shemu Joya’s first major project called Seasons of Life. Two years later she appeared in another project by Joya entitled The Last Fishing Boat. The two projects made her a household name in Malawi not forgetting her seasonal appearances on a local soapie, Tikuferanji.
Having established friendship with the lens, the queen of Malawi’s acting is no longer a new face on television. She believes the influx of television stations can work to filmmakers’ advantage however with proper measures in place.
“They can help by providing a platform to local filmmakers to showcase their movies, but they don’t have to show anything because it’s a movie. They should set standards.”
Having crafted a movies titled My Mother’s Story which enjoyed worldwide premier, Suya is currently producing a television series, Spouses and Workmates, which airs every Monday 18:30 on Times Television. It’s set in Blantyre city with a cast that is diverse.
she is good trust me