MultiChoice Talent Factory: Eight Years of Investment in Africa’s Creative Future 

Uchechukwu Orji

An African film can be well written, beautifully shot and well-received at home, yet still struggle to find its way to audiences beyond its immediate market. As the continent’s film industry becomes more ambitious about reaching global audiences, the conversation is increasingly moving beyond the quality of the stories being told to the systems that determine how those stories travel.

This question was at the heart of the International Sales and Distribution Executive (ISDE) Masterclass and Microdrama Masterclass organised by Nigerian International Film Summit (NIFS) in partnership with MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) on 24 August and 26 August 2026. 

The session, themed “From Script to Market: The Future of Cinema in Africa,” brought together filmmakers, producers and other industry professionals to examine a part of the film business that is often less visible than production itself: what happens after a film is made.

For many creatives, completing a film can feel like the finish line. In reality, it marks the beginning of another process involving positioning, sales, distribution, audience development and commercial decisions. These factors can determine whether a film remains within its original market or reaches new audiences and generates value for the people who created it.

MTF Academy Director, Akaoma Onyeonoru, captured this during the masterclass when she said, “It is one thing to make a movie and another thing for that movie to travel for the world to see.” 

She emphasised that a film should also be understood as a product, requiring the right positioning, market strategy and distribution approach to reach its intended audience. For her, this makes an understanding of the business of film an important part of the work of today’s filmmaker, particularly as African content increasingly seeks audiences beyond its immediate markets.

The distinction is particularly relevant for African cinema, where filmmakers are producing stories with the potential to connect with audiences across the continent and internationally, but need the knowledge and networks to navigate the markets beyond production.

The ISDE Masterclass brought that business side of filmmaking into focus. Industry experts including Kene Mkparu, President/CEO of KOMWORLD Cinemas and Studio KOM Film Production and Distribution; Funmi Onuma, Cinema Expert and Thought Leader; and Ijeoma Onah, Founder of NIFS and Film and TV Industry Leader, shared perspectives on the commercial journey of film, giving participants an opportunity to examine how decisions around sales and distribution can affect the reach and value of their work.

For NIFS, the partnership with MTF provided an opportunity to bring an important industry conversation to the centre of the summit. Ijeoma Onah, Founder of NIFS, commended MTF for its continued investment in developing professionals across the creative industry, noting that partnerships of this nature are important to giving practitioners access to the knowledge and expertise needed to navigate a changing industry. She highlighted the value of having MTF contribute to conversations around sales, distribution and other areas of the film business that can help professionals better understand the full value chain.

The partnership also extended into conversations about the changing nature of African content, with the NIFS Summit featuring a dedicated discussion on Microdrama and its place in the future of the industry. The session examined the rise of short-form storytelling, changing audience habits and the opportunities emerging from new ways of creating and consuming content. 

For MTF, engaging in these conversations is part of understanding the skills and knowledge that creative professionals will need as the industry continues to evolve. The focus is not only on helping practitioners navigate the industry as it exists today, but also on preparing them to respond to new formats, platforms and business models shaping the future of African storytelling.

As more content is produced and more platforms compete for African stories, creative professionals increasingly have to understand the ecosystem around their craft. A filmmaker who understands the market can approach a project with a clearer sense of its audience, potential routes to market and commercial possibilities. For producers, knowledge of distribution can influence decisions long before a film is completed.

This is where MTF’s role in the industry extends beyond training filmmakers in the traditional sense. For eight years, the MultiChoice Talent Factory has invested in developing creative professionals and strengthening the skills required to support Africa’s film and television ecosystem. More than 100 young filmmakers have been trained through the MTF Academy, while its masterclasses and other industry development programmes have reached more than 10,000 creatives and film and television professionals over the years.

The emphasis on professional knowledge has become particularly important as the industry continues to change. New formats, platforms and audience behaviours are creating opportunities, but they are also requiring professionals to understand a wider range of disciplines. The NIFS programme, which also featured conversations around Microdrama and the future of African film, reflects some of the changes reshaping how African content is created, distributed and consumed.

MTF’s decision to partner with NIFS for the ISDE Masterclass, therefore, goes beyond putting another training session on the industry calendar. NIFS provides a platform for conversations around the business and future of film, while MTF brings its experience in talent development and industry training. Onyeonoru described the partnership as an important one for MTF, particularly because of the opportunity to expose more professionals to the business side of filmmaking and encourage them to invest in developing themselves beyond their primary areas of expertise. Together, the partnership creates space for professionals to engage with areas of the industry that can directly affect the commercial life of their work.

For participants, the value of that knowledge is ultimately measured by what happens after the masterclass. Understanding how a film moves through the market can help a producer assess opportunities differently, help a filmmaker think more deliberately about audiences and give industry professionals a better understanding of the commercial decisions surrounding their work. These are practical skills that can influence projects long after the classroom discussion has ended.

MTF is taking this approach beyond Lagos in 2026 through 13 regional masterclasses across Nigeria. The programme will bring specialised industry knowledge to professionals in different parts of the country through partnerships with film festivals, cultural organisations, guilds and other platforms, with sessions planned across locations including Ogun, Oyo, Imo, Abia, Delta, Rivers, Abuja and Kano.

The regional approach is significant because the development of Nigeria’s creative industry cannot depend solely on opportunities concentrated in Lagos. Working with organisations already connected to creative communities in different regions allows MTF to meet professionals within their existing ecosystems while creating more opportunities for knowledge-sharing across the industry.

The partnerships include the Wole Soyinka Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, Ibadan International Film Festival, Pan-Atlantic University International Student’s Film Festival, Twin City International Film Festival, Rivers International Film Festival and Kano Indigenous Languages Film Festival. Each platform offers a different connection to filmmakers and creative professionals, allowing the wider programme to respond to the needs and realities of different creative communities.

The bigger question for African cinema is no longer simply whether the continent has enough stories to tell. It is whether the people telling those stories have the knowledge, networks and commercial understanding to ensure that the stories can travel and that their creators can participate meaningfully in the value they generate.

For MTF, that is the thinking behind an eight-year investment that continues into 2026. By combining creative training with practical industry knowledge and taking those opportunities to professionals across Nigeria, the focus is on strengthening the people who will determine where African film goes next. The journey from script to screen may be creative, but taking that story from the screen to audiences around the world requires a different set of skills altogether.