ZAMBIAN film makers have formed a professional film maker’s association which aims to create employment for artists and grow the industry.
Speaking during the launch of the association, local film maker and director Lawrence Thompson said film making was a business and as such should be able to create employment, protect and sustain it for those who have chosen the industry their livelihood.
Mr Thompson that government had created a conducive environment for the film industry to thrive by licensing many local, continental and soon international buyers of film and television content.
“Our content is of high quality and of great value, so the onus is on us to regulate and standardize the industry so that we are not exploited,
“ It is for this reason, that we as producers have found it imperative to come together united and create a body that will help us achieve much more but also address the challenges we face current or imminent to the individual producers as well as collectively,” he said.
He lamented that the current content buyers, local continental or operating in Zambia today, like MultiChoice through Zambezi magic had provided the best support, in that not only did they buy content at reasonable rates in comparison to the others, the pay TV had also demonstrated efforts to support the industry further by holding workshops in the different areas of production such as lighting and sound engineering as well as help producers understand the business.
Mr Thompson said with the guild in place, it would render support to many efforts to grow various industries including local actors.
He called on producers to work together adding that fighting each other would only draw them backwards.
“The industry is growing but let us all support the guild for a better and more organized industry. Let us commit to stand together and build with more pride in our products. If we fail to work together we will fail to succeed, “he said.
