Hurray! MTF Academy Class of 2020 graduate in flying colours

Wednesday, April 07, 2021 at 4:06 PM by Adunni Amodeni 3 min read

Celebrating the conclusion of a successful second year for the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF)

Despite the challenging year that was 2020, MultiChoice is thrilled to congratulate the MTF Academy Class of 2020 on their graduation!

2020 was undoubtedly tough due to COVID-19 but the ability of all the 20 students to quickly adapt and transition from physical to virtual learning speaks to the world-class nature of the academy’s course, says John Ugbe, CEO MultiChoice Nigeria.

“The MultiChoice Talent Factory is very close to my heart. It speaks to who we are as Nigerians, natural-born storytellers. Today we are here to celebrate the second cohort who were dealt a heavy blow by the COVID-19 pandemic but the challenge seems to have brought on even greater opportunities,” Ugbe adds.

The students’ academic course was extended from 12 months to 18 months due to the pandemic. This additional time translated to the students today walking away with not one but two qualifications, making them even more sought-after as they re-enter their respective local film and TV sectors as highly qualified industry professionals. Alongside their MTF qualification, the students also walk away with an equally illustrious qualification from the prestigious New York Film Academy of Visual and Performing Arts (NYFA).

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Africa’s creative industries are custodians of the continent’s cultural heritage and as Africa’s most-loved storyteller, MultiChoice has always put to use its burning desire to develop and invest in African talent through initiatives such as MTF. Like the previous cohort, the skills gained by the Class of 2020 once again shone through during their course.

The students completed an intensive 3-week online NYFA course on the production of micro-documentaries, Public Service Announcements (PSAs), music videos and also worked with the United Nations on the global #PledgeToPause campaign, exposing the young creatives to global networks. In addition, MTF graduates are now part of the MTF alumni network and connected to industry professionals from across the continent through the MTF Portal - www.multichoicetalentfactory.com.

The continued success of the MTF initiative since its start in 2018 is also rooted in its illustrious partnership with Pan-Atlantic University (PAU) as well as with internationally acclaimed organisations Dolby, Jasco Broadcast Solutions and Nihilent. They have further contributed to the initiative by offering awards to this year’s graduates.

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The awards are:

• NYFA 8-week scholarship in the United States of America goes to the top-performing graduate - Mr Abisola Aboaba.

• Nihilent Technologies 8-week scriptwriting internship on an animation series goes to Ms Julie Ako.

• Jasco Broadcast Solutions AVID media composer licence to the most-promising film video editor goes to Mr Gbenga Gomes.

• Jasco Broadcast Solution AVID Pro Tools license to the most promising sound engineer goes to Mr Igho Arusi Avuirovarie.

• In addition to these, the 4-week MNet internship in South Africa goes to Joshua Tsotso.

• The CEO Award for Innovation goes to Mr Eric Kafui Okyerefo, Ms Chioma Paul-Dike and Mr Avuiroevarie Igho Arusi for building Ekho media, a streaming platform for short films and content creators. They also get $1000 each and a structured 1-year mentoring session with the CEO.

“This is a proud moment for everyone involved in ensuring that the students became graduates. It’s also been fulfilling to see just how in-tune this next generation of African storytellers are with the importance of being multi-skilled and intuitive creatives,” Ugbe continues “All this would not have been possible without the collaboration and commitment of our fantastic partners.”