Women in the Entertainment Industry in Malawi // The UMP Awards 2017 // My Malawi Show

Hosting the red carpet at the UMP Awards this weekend had me thinking a lot about Malawi’s entertainment industry.

Firstly, let me say that I am sharing this as my experience as a woman entering and planning to stay in the entertainment industry in Malawi.

I actually never saw myself being in the entertainment industry in Malawi. Growing up I always saw myself ending up in Hollywood… possibly acting, doing music, dancing, designing – or something! I am naturally a creative and happen to be talented in different fields. I have a creative’s good eye, a very sharp and creative mind and a steady hand. That makes it easy for me to master most creative arts. I can draw, I can design. I can do photography/videography and recently I am a self taught Video Editor and Producer. I am almost done writing my first book and soon to be a published author. I am also a speaker and a closet poet. All these skills are selftaught and I hope to get better.

Late last year, I completed my undergraduate studies. That for me meant that I could no longer blame not chasing my dreams on my education. At the time I was already a blogger. I have been blogging for close to 5 years now. What started as blogging about my hair journey later became blogging about my personal style and eventually travel. I found myself in Travel Blogging. Why? My heart was right there. I enjoy travel, so what I wrote was from my heart. Discovering that was a push for me in the right direction… writing from the heart.

Now going through this year, I have been on a pursuit of figuring out who I am going to be. I am sure in my heart I have absolutely no interest in paper work and can thus not hold down a job as an economist or a demographer. At most I will work as a (visual) researcher (MA, Gender and Media) in the field of Gender Equality  (Women’s Empowerment). I figured I cannot be a musician because God knows I am only good t mimicking voices (yas choir life!) I cannot be a designer simply because I also love to design and make what inspires me. I cannot be an actress – I lack the patience and none of the industries interest me that much anymore – not forgetting the inexistence of one right in my country.

So then begun the journey of finding my “Chiphwelemwe” as Karen (Miss Malawi First Princess 2008) said to me at Mzuzu fashion Week this year. She told me to find a way to use all my talents to work for one greater cause. Let me tell you, it has not been easy. It did not happen overnight. I guess we can say it took me 5 years. It has really been a challenge. I surprisingly still face the same challenges when more opportunities are presented to me… in deciding whether I can or cannot take on certain roles.

My TV show started with my love for Television. I grew up watching waaaay too much TV and I knew from a young age I wanted to be on TV. My parents say I used to go behing the television screen and ask them if they could see me through the TV from the back when I was a very little girl. When I was growing up I always dreamt hollywood. Modelling seemed like an easy way to get in but I was too short.

It came easy to me when I decided to “Just do what you love” but not immediately either. I love travelling, I love eating, I love exploring, I love having heart to heart conversations with people, I love designing and I like solving problems. So no the show idea did not come that easy. In fact, from the day we decided to start producing the show, it has changed so much you would not be able to recognise what we wanted in the beginning. That was finding the “Chiphwelemwe” and it really was God’s doing, not mine.

We planned to start airing on 2nd December, 2017. However, after consulting with zodiak, we have opted to wait until the black out situation is sorted given ratings are deeply affected (so fun being Malawian – let’s talk about that on the show!) We will communicate when exactly we shall start airing, hopefully before the end of January next year.

Now last Saturday I hosted the red carpet interviews at the UMP Awards. Initially I was meant to co-host the Awards but I had to remember who I am and say “Heart to Heart, Ntha” so the red Carpet interviews seemed more logical. That is knowing your chiphwelemwe, where your strengths lie. I think this post shows that this was a great choice. I still had to introduce the Minister of Culture, Arts and Crafts, Honorable Grace Obama Chiumia to the audience and was deeply humbled to do so. They were my first Malawian Awards to attend and it really was a great night. I mean look at this. Overall it was a great night. My friends walked away with Multiple Awards and I was so happy to see some souls I had fallen in love with on the Red Carpet taking home their awards. Beautifully deserved. And of course, as a cherry on top we premiered for the first time the TV Show we have been working on at the Awards.

I think entering the entertainment industry was easy for me. I started organising events when I was in Uni and became friends with a number of Celebrities. Heart to heart has always worked for me. I have met more online. Most of them have become my very very close family. If I didn’t know any better, I could very well be the biggest groupie there is in Malawi lol.

Knowing most of them makes it easy for my work. They are my friends, my family and it is so easy working with them and putting them on. Combining all my talents, I opted to be the one putting people in the Entertainment Industry in Malawi on. I opted to be the cheerleader for their talents, and the bouncing board for what they want the world to know about them. Small and budding as it is, the Malawian Entertainment Industry is actually a beautiful place to be.

As a woman in the industry, you could expect it to be catty (because women are just..) but I think this is the one industry I have seen women truly stick together. I have fallen in love 10 times over with women in this sector pursuing their different passions. I guess that is the thing about true creativity – it leaves very little room for hate. It is hard to be hating on someone unless you are competing with them. As long as you are treading your own path, all you have is love to give to other women.

Last but one, and most important on my list in Developing a loyal team. Even this, is a working progress too. I know I have changed videography teams at least thrice since we started shooting. Loyalty and commitment are paramount in bulding any team. As my Producer Tawanda would say, find your “Gems” and keep them. We are still collecting on this end.

Lastly, seek God. For the past 4 years of my life I have truly trusted God with my life – through triumphs, pain and loss. I have let Him take the lead and everytime and I am convinced He has my best interests at heart and I can’t do it on my own. Let Him dictate your life and you just be an agent executing His plan through your life. I’m a living testimony.

But this is my story, and I know you have yours. I shared mine with hopes that you will find the heart to pursue your own. If you are a creative thinking of how to become relevant in the Entertainment industry, for me, value #1 is to remain true to yourself . Authenticity can be spotted from out of space, and that is the one thing that will make you stay relevant. A pretend act only lasts for so long.

Manage your brand, whatever it is, truest to you and your creative talents. You can use some of my strategies but only if they apply to you. I would very much advise you to live your own story your way, as did I mine – and I am still writing it.

I hope you find your Chiphwelemwe.

BTW how cute were my outfits at the Awards?
Both Dresses by me.

Till next time,

Ntha xx

Photos by Cricky Juster, Fusion Multimedia and Deadline Media

“Chiphwelemwe” : A collection of things that work together for one cause.