Fri, 23 Jun 2017 10:37:08 +0000
By SANDRA MACHIMA
AN Indian company has pledged to invest US$75 million in establishing Africa’s biggest animation media institute in Zambia.
SENFRA Limited director Suresh Kumar said the move would significantly encourage artists to make a difference in their lives.
Mr Kumar said this was the time for Zambia to create content that had more worldwide demand, adding that his company would train and employ 300 youths and another 3,000 indirectly.
And Zambia’s High Commissioner to India Judith Kapijimpanga said India had one of the largest and most prolific cinema industries in the world and motion picture was a trend that needed to gain momentum in Zambia.
Ms Kapijimpanga said some young Zambians in the animation and effects community were well aware of the new technologies and filmmaking methods, adding that all they needed was proper training from institutions such as Senfra.
“We give thanks to online education media, forums, and conferences and what our young people need is proper training from institutions like Senfra,” she said.
She said some Zambian media personnel wanted skill exchange programmes that would transform Zambia’s film industry.
Ms Kapijimpanga said the animation institute would help the Zambian film industry diversify into as yet untapped forms of storytelling through film.
“I know that with motion picture being a much quicker process than the traditional systems currently in place, artists will enjoy more creative freedom when deadlines are no longer a problem,” she said.
