By Emmanuel Simpokolwe:
The short film The Liberator on Sunday scooped five awards during the inaugural Nyasa International Film Festival held at Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe.
Out of the 11 submitted films, The Liberator, directed by Boniface Kachiza Jekete, won Best Short Film, Best Actor, Best Picture, Best Cinematography and Best Director.
“We are incredibly honoured to accomplish this feat. We are extremely motivated because winning awards like this at an international film festival is not a mean achievement for us,” Jekete said.
He then applauded organisers for creating such a platform, saying it is helping in uplifting the creative industry.
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Another film titled The Killer I Bought by Tione Pictures scooped two awards of Best Actress and Best Sound while Best People’s Award went to Stop and Quit, which was seconded by Utsi, a production by Dzuwa Arts.
Nyasa International Film Festival Director Philmon Kuipa described the festival as a success and that the whole idea is to highlight the importance of addressing tobacco harm reduction and promoting public health.
“Apart from sampling films, the platform brought together players from the film and creative industry in general, journalists and health professionals to share ideas as regards raising awareness about tobacco harm reduction,” Kuipa said.
According to Kuipa, the winning films will be screened across the country, with universities as the primary target.
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“We want to do more in raising awareness and this is why we will be having these screenings in partnership with players such as Zanzibar International Film,” he said.
Kuipa also disclosed that the festival would now be an annual event and that a team has been put in place to run the affairs of the event.
The festival, which also reviewed and awarded published articles on the same theme, was attended by renowned people such as High Court Judge Redson Kapindu, Michael Udedi, who represented the Minister of Health, and Presidential Adviser on Creative Industries poet Q Malewezi.
