By Neo Kolane
There is a bridge that needs to be gapped in Lesotho’s film, industry where a majority of local filmmakers are stereotypical when it comes to concept design and development.
To this effect, news coming out of the industry is that an upcoming film industry shakeup workshop will see a Mosotho award-winning scriptwriter, director and producer Khauhelo Lephema sharing the stage with South African film industry development facilitator Aubrey in April and May.
The Maseru Film Club is a programme initiated by film sector groundbreakers in Lesotho to bring together members of the general public of all age groups who have interest in watching films and making films.
Any registered member of the Maseru Film Club who wishes to know how films are made will be given an opportunity to attend any of the sessions of the workshop.
In an interview with theReporter, Lephema noted that the film industry in Lesotho is dominated by actors while there are few filmmakers, which is a problem because filmmakers are the primary ingredient in the making and production of a film.
“Without filmmakers, actors cannot showcase their capabilities, hence, we have a responsibility to produce more filmmakers and equip them with excellent skills to guarantee the foundation of the industry.
“If you look carefully you’d be tempted to say they have one brain; they only do drama. Yet there is a wide range of genres that are there to explore, especially since our history as Basotho is awash with different genres like adventure, horror and action.
He explained that the workshop is not just about concept design and development and producing, but it is also about all the essential departments of film production like acting, cinematography, editing and special effects and makeup.
For film and TV production students, this workshop will come in handy in many ways because it is one thing to learn film production in school, and another to actually make films in the industry.
Their skills will be enhanced further by getting blueprints from experienced filmmakers and the motivation of interacting with some accomplished filmmakers in whose footsteps they are walking. The students will also understand the film business, which is where producing comes in.
“My goal is to end up with more filmmakers than there were before the workshop, thereby putting an end to the drama-inclined stereotypical mindset of our filmmakers and giving them a mindset of developing unique concepts,” Lephema added.
