The European Film Festival is returning to Malawi for its third edition this May. The Film Association of Malawi, in partnership with the Malawian Delegate of the European Union, have organised the event which will run from the 6th to the 7th of May 2022. The festival will take place over the two days in Lilongwe and will also take place on the 7th of May in Blantyre. This is a fantastic show of commitment to the Malawian arts scene from the European Union and gives Malawian filmmakers a chance to shine on a big stage.
The festival will be showing acclaimed European feature films alongside local short films, so local talent can have a chance to see their films alongside some of the best films being made in the world. As well as that, the European Film Festival has delivered a workshop for local filmmakers as part of the team’s commitment to developing the Malawian film industry. Some of the top filmmakers in Europe will be there to aid the development of our brightest talents. This took place on April 14th in Lilongwe as a warm-up to the festival.
One thing that’s being carried over from the 2021 European Film Festival is the outdoor setting which was such a hit with audiences last year. The screenings that will take place in Lilongwe will take place in the residence of the EU Ambassador, in an open-air cinematic setting. There will be fantastic visual and sound production on display as the team is working hard to create a top-quality viewing experience. The screenings that will take place in Blantyre will be held at the Jacaranda Cultural Center.
Rune Skinnebach, the EU ambassador has spoken about this project and pushed the EU’s aims to strengthen a meaningful engagement with Malawians. By hosting the European Film Festival here as well as providing workshops for budding filmmakers, they hope to create more ways to engage in intercultural dialogue. Rune said of the project: “We fully embrace culture in our diplomacy in order to reach out more widely to the world, show value of Europe’s artistic expressions, and organise collaborative events in order to enhance the values and priorities of EU”.
The positivity is echoed by the President of the Film Association of Malawi (FAMA), Gift Sukez Sukali, who said that they were very pleased to be involved in the event. A multi-award-winning film director himself, Gift has urged Malawian filmmakers to participate in both the festival and the workshop. As a vocal supporter of artists enjoying the full fruits of their labour – which we covered here at Malawi24 – Gift has been doing a lot to help local filmmakers, including setting up collaborations and workshops such as this. Past editions of the festival have helped develop the skills and give exposure to Malawian filmmakers and it’s the hope of both the EU and the Film Association of Malawi that this continues.
One of the great things about the prevalence of these workshops and festivals is that it opens a line of communication between Malawi and the rest of the world. When the world sees how successful these festivals and workshops have been, it opens the door for other industries to host similar events. You never know when we’ll have a European Music Festival or a European Gaming Festival! The gaming market is booming right now, and it would be great to see some Malawian influence in games, whether they’re indie games, Triple-A games, or even online casino games. Right now, there is an abundance of amazingly fun casino games online, such as animated slots with an African theme or more traditional table games like blackjack, that are available to people around the world, with operators offering generous welcome bonuses to new customers, which helps players go further with their deposit. With so much choice, it can be tough to find the site that best suits your needs, which is why sites like Asiabet host casino reviews so you can compare a host of online casinos at once, which is safe to access even for Malawian players. Hopefully, in a few years, you’ll be able to play games created by Malawian designers!
The European Film Festival looks set to become a staple of the Malawian film calendar and given the positive impact it had over the past 2 (soon to be 3) years, it’s great news for Malawian filmmakers. We hope to see this partnership with the EU blossom over the coming years and start to see Malawian filmmakers impact the European and worldwide film industry!
