The European Union (EU) Delegation to Malawi in partnership with the Film Association of Malawi (Fama) is organising the third edition of the Euro Film Festival for 2022. The festival is scheduled for May 6 to 7 in Lilongwe and on May 7 in Blantyre. Our correspondent HOWARD MLOZI caught up with Aurelie Valtat, the charge d’affaires of EU Delegation to Malawi to shed more light on EU’s role in promoting Malawian arts:

Valtat: Malawi has exotic and unique stories

Q

: What motivated you to introduce the Euro Film Festival in Malawi?

A

: The Euro Film Festival is a film festival that takes place all around the world and is organised by European Union embassies in different countries. And when we looked at the possibility to have it in Malawi, we really jumped on it. We felt this was a great way to support Malawian film makers.

Q

: When did you start this initiative and what have been the lessons?

A

: We first had our Euro Film Festival in Malawi in October 2019. And we had a second one in May 2021 and this year we are having a third edition in May. I think when we started this project we saw that people were  interested in the mix between the European and Malawian movies that were shown. The curator of the film festival was able to blend European and Malawian stories and we thought this added value to the festival.

The other thing that we noticed is that last year we did it in an outdoor setting. The first film festival was held indoors at Crossroads Hotel. And people really loved the outdoor atmosphere and we thought of maintaining it this year.

Q

: How can you describe the local content as far as film making is concerned?

A

: Very creative. Malawi has exotic and unique stories. I remember in the previous festivals there were extremely good fighting, strange and weird movies.

Q

:  What is the market for local movies like in Europe?

A

: There are two things that Malawian artists (film makers) need to know. First is that EU sponsors quite a lot of non-European film making projects especially in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific regions. There is a specific cultural programme for this. So, Malawian artists can submit proposals to this programme.

The second is that we are the EU delegation, we don’t have a culture expert, but we are happy that Malawian filmmakers can get in touch with us to help them to present their films at international stage.

Q

: Apart from supporting the Europe Film Festival, what else do you do on Malawi’s cultural front?

A

: It is mostly the Europe Film Festival and the Workshop for the filmmakers. But throughout the year the EU is involved in arts programmes in general. We sponsor the Art in the Park, Music Crossroads and we also have grants that have just been won by University of Malawi and MHub to support Malawi’s culture.n

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