If you ever find yourself in any city in Malawi and you hear people talking about Mercy Johnson do not think the Nollywood Mercy Johnson is around. Most people say our guest resembles her and it is because when she attended AMAA Film Festival in 2013 at least three people mention the resemblance.
Our culture person is Flora Suya. She is a multi-talented woman from Malawi. She is a writer, actor, producer and director. She thinks of herself as an aspiring poet. We decided to feature Flora Suya because of the role she played in a film we watched in one of our classes at the University of Florida. To give some depth to the movie I decided to communicate with Charles Shemu Joyah to seek his opinion about how the movie was interpreted. His response is below;
“Thanks very much for the communication and introducing my film to your students and including it in your exams. I think your student has really understood the film and has made a fair criticism of the film. What I don’t know is whether you would like me to explain why I chose to end the film in that way. If you think that it will be beneficial to your student, I will write a detailed explanation, which will show another message I wanted to pass across in the development of Sungisa as a human being.
By the way, I don’t know if you are aware that my latest film, “The Road To Sunrise” became Malawi’s first ever entry into the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language category? I know it is a tough one but it was important for me and the country to enter the competition. It gives us recognition and show the world that we are really serious about filmmaking. Once again, thanks for communicating.
Best Regards, Shemu
It was partly based on this that we sought out the lead character in the movie, Ms. Flora Suya.
Can you tell us some of the notable productions you have taken part in?
I have appeared in two movies by Charles Shemu Joyah; Seasons of a life and The last Fishing Boat. In both productions, I played leading roles. In Seasons of a life I played Sungisa and as Abiti Anefa in The last Fishing Boat. There was a movie by Owas Ray Mwape, titled Chenda(2015) and I played Chenda. The script written by “Ivory Van De Boom, a Zambian based in the Netherlands and directed by Mwape, the suspense and drama plays out when Chenda’s husband, played by local actor Mingeli Palata goes into infidelity with Sabina, a character brought to life by local musician Dambisa Lunda.
Mwape, best known for his role as ‘Chembo’ in the Kabanana television series says the Zambian movie industry lacks sufficient platform for movie makers to thrive but hopes productions like Chenda would put the country on the map.”
Apart from movies directed by others, I also produced My Mother’s Story (2016) and I played the role of Tadala. The movie is about a young woman who works as a housemaid and is impregnated by a gardener, and was later abandoned. I did the story to generate debate among decision makers as regards the exclusion of women in most areas. The movie was screened at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF) in the United States of America about four years ago (October 14-16 2016).
Apart from the big screen, I have also taken part in local TV soaps. Ufulu in Spouses and Workmates is one example of a local TV soap I produced for our local TV station here in Malawi.
If I am correct, you have had to appear naked in one of the movies you listed above. Can you take us down memory lane about the production and anything you can recall
Yes, I appeared half naked in Seasons of a life and The last Fishing Boat. I personally had and have no problems acting in movies that require me to be half-naked. I understand the meaning of acting and I respect writers and directors so I do whatever is asked of me. I actually love such roles because they are challenging to many actors. I remember how I found myself in The Last Fishing Boat. What happened was that Mr. Joyah chose some girl for the role but when they went on set, she couldn’t show off her breasts as a result, Mr. Joyah replaced her with me. And when I went on set, everybody was amazed by how easy it was for me. I actually removed my top before we started shooting. 😄
Can you tell us a bit about your background?
My background is from stage theatre and I have featured in a number of plays but I’ll mention a few;
Titus Andronicus, a Shakespeare adaptation as Basiunus. This was done in Vallejo USA.
The Messenger, as M’bonas mother by Theatre Konstanz, Germany and Nanzikambe Arts Malawi.
I will Marry when I want, as Wangechi. An adaptation by Ngugi Wathiong’o.
These are very impressive works. What then is your impression of filmmaking in Malawi
Filmmaking is not as exciting as it is elsewhere because it is not rewarding. We keep pushing because of the passion we have but not the returns. There are times we premiere movies and only 50 people would show up. And when it comes to support from the government it is close to zero. As you know that makes things difficult. I’ll give you an example, if you want to shoot a scene at a police station, government hospitals, airports, the procedure is too long and frustrating that sometimes we just improvise instead of go through the bureaucracy.
If filmmaking is nothing to write home about, what of other creative outlets like stage plays, music and oral story telling
The struggle is the same. I would say at least musicians sing a better song than us.
Who are the major acts
The musicians?
Yes
We have people like Patience Namadingo, Lulu, The Black Missionaries (Malawi’s Reggae Kings) and Zembani Band. The biography of Patience is very interesting and I will share it with you.
Patience Namadingo is a Malawian gospel singer-composer and songwriter (born 28 May, 1990). His debut album, “Goseni”, which was funded by his mother who did two songs on the album, was released on 27 December 2007. His second album, “ Tiri ndi Yesu” featured the hit “Mtendere”, was released in 2010 and went on to become the number one selling gospel album between 2010-2012. The first born in a family of three, he hails from Kapalamula Village, T/A Nsamala in Balaka district. Growing up as a kid, Patience did his first years of primary school in Lilongwe, before his parents moved to the northern city of Mzuzu, where he spent part of his childhood, before the family relocated to Lilongwe where he did his secondary education at Chipasula Secondary School and later went to South Africa where he studied music and arts at National School of the Arts in Johannesburg.
What impact has Nollywood had on movie making in Malawi
It has given birth to many aspiring filmmakers. Many filmmakers and actors have many role models in Nollywood and sometimes you watch their movies and feel like you are watching a Nigerian movie until you hear the language. This has both negative and positive impact on our movies. People want to watch stories they can relate to and witchcraft movies are very Nigerian than Malawian as a result, some viewers don’t like watching our local movies because they lack originality. On the other hand, the stories we hear about how easy it is to shoot a movie in Nigeria and that has inspired a lot of young people to venture into filmmaking.
If you were to make a transnational movie that will include other African countries, what type of movie will you like to make
I’d make a political movie. Our politics in Africa has a lot we can write about. Starting from jokes, serious issues, bizarre things and powerful men like Robert Mugabe and Nelson Mandela, Gaddafi, Savimbi, Lumumba…
Who in Malawi will you rate the best Director of photography and why
Mr. Charles Shemu Joyah. He is conversant with Filmmaking and he invests his time and money to produce the best movies.
Who is the best set designer
We don’t have professional set designers. Normally, the owners of movies are the ones who design their sets.
What of make-up artists
They are a few but I do not know them. We normally use makeup artists for weddings.
So give us an idea of pre-production in Malawi
Normally it involves location scouting and rehearsals. We do not do much because our budgets are low. We produce zero budget movies.
For those of us not familiar with Malawi, can you take us through interesting cultural location where you hang out?
Mulanje Mountain. It has a lot of mystery stories and incidents. It’s beautiful but it is believed to be a place for spirits. If you provoke the spirits, you go missing. A number of tourists have gone missing.
Nkhulubvi Shrine. It is a home for M’bona who is believed to be a god of a tribal group called Amang’anja. He died a long time ago but his people still pray to him when they are I need of anything and they say whatever they pray for, is given to them. I like places that have some mystery to them.
I also like visiting the Museums to learn a lot about my country’s history. As you know “Malawi’s greatest asset is its people. They are wonderfully friendly and warmly welcoming. All visitors are met with smiles and a truly genuine and long-lasting welcome. With a population of over 18 million, Malawi is one of the more densely populated countries of this part of Africa. Most of the population is rural, living largely in fascinating traditional villages.”
“There is a rich cultural mix in Malawi with the Chewa being the most numerous tribe. Others include the Yao, the Nyanja and the Maravi. In the north the Tumbuka are prominent. Each ethnic group has contributed to the modern Malawi scene, whether it be in dress or dance or language.”
Do you have any dream you have that our readers may know about?
It is my dream and wish that one day; I would act with Mercy Johnson. I admire her talent a lot.
