With its Magic in Motion corporate social
investment initiative now entering its third year, M-Net has delivered on its
promise to provide up-and-coming young storytellers with opportunities to hone
their skills so that they can contribute to creating more compelling South
African television programming.
At a special event held in Johannesburg on May
4 and hosted by Isibaya star Celeste Ntuli, the M-Net Magic in Motion
Academy graduated its Class of 2016 and welcomed its Class of 2017.
The company, whose 30-year commitment to
local content creation has resulted in nearly 40 outstanding African channels
broadcast across the continent, also confirmed the expansion of its Magic in
Motion outreach. Backed by the generous support of the MultiChoice Enterprise
Development Trust, M-Net is spearheading a remarkable R2.7 million investment
project whose beneficiaries (Themba Mfebe, Mbali Zulu and Aluta Qupa) are drawn
from the Academy’s inaugural Class of 2015.
“We are absolutely delighted with this
three-part success,” says M-Net CEO Yolisa Phahle. “To be able to further
empower three Magic in Motion Academy alumni, to celebrate 19 outgoing
graduates and to welcome 13 new incoming interns speaks powerfully to the depth
of talent we have in this country. M-Net is proud of each of these young people
and is pleased that our partnerships with leading production companies and
tertiary institutions has yielded such a rich vein of skill and creativity.”
Highlighting that the Academy is inherently
evolutionary in nature, Phahle also announced that going forward, interns would
diversify the production output, a key part of the Academy year, using the
skills they learn to create not just movies, but a four-part primetime
miniseries as well!
Headed by acclaimed filmmaker Bobby Heaney,
the Magic in Motion Academy was established to empower a new generation of film
and TV professionals, equipping these rising stars with intensive practical
experience to complement their theoretical tertiary education before they embark
on their professional careers.
The Class of 2016, watched by guests which
included their families, keynote speaker Thabang Moleya, academic leaders,
production company heavyweights and representatives of prominent industry
organisations, were awarded a MICT Seta Accredited Certification from The Big Fish School of Digital
Filmmaking. This caps a year during which they worked on some of the country’s
biggest shows and showcases including The Voice SA, Miss South Africa
and the Cape Town Carnival among others. Additionally, they produced no fewer
than four movies for broadcast on M-Net’s flagship Mzansi Magic (DStv
channel 161), bringing the overall produced to date to eight films in three
years. With the MultiChoice Enterprise Development initiative set to deliver an
additional three movies during which time the beneficiary alumni will be guided
by Clive Morris Productions, the slate of original films produced by the
Academy is increasing.
For Phahle this offers a tangible
measurement of the Academy’s effectiveness. “By offering primetime broadcast
space to productions pitched, written, cast, filmed and edited by the interns,
we are able to directly correlate the impact of our 12-month work-readiness
process with real-world broadcast. It allows the interns to understand their
own power, to see directly the influence they can have.”
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