Joyce Mhango-Chavula | |
---|---|
Born | Malawia |
Occupation(s) | Actress, filmmaker, director and arts trainer |
Joyce Mhango-Chavula is a Malawian actress, filmmaker, theatre director, and Arts trainer.
Joyce Mhango-Chavula started acting while at secondary school, through the Association for Teaching English in Malawi. She later joined a local drama group called Reformation Theayre and worked with the Alabama Theatre. [1] Inspired by the example of Gertrude Kamkwatira, Chavula quit her job as a media sales and marketing supervisor in 2009, and launched her own theatre company, Rising Choreos Theatre Company. The Return (2011) brought together a Nigerian and Malawian cast, including Patience Ozokwor, and toured all three regions of Malawi. [2]
Chavula's first feature film, No More Tears (2013), was shot in Lilongwe and on the beach of Lake Malawi in Salima District. It told the story of a 20-year-old girl who needs to take care of her father after losing her mother to AIDS. After her father dies his brothers claim his property, leaving the girl destitute. [3]
Her 2015 film Lilongwe won Best Movie from Southern Africa in the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards. [4]
Nyasaland (2016) received a nomination for the 2018 Africa Movie Academy Awards for Best Film in an African Language. [5] The film had its US premiere at the 2018 Silicon Valley African Film Festival. [6]
Chavula is currently the vice president of Film Association of Malawi and also served as vice president of the National Theatre Association of Malawi (NTAM) for three years, and is now a NTAM board member.she is an Ambassador for The African film festival (TAFF) and a member of the Oscars Malawi committee. [2]
Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south and southwest. Malawi spans over 118,484 km2 (45,747 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 19,431,566. Malawi's capital is Lilongwe. Its second-largest is Blantyre, its third-largest is Mzuzu and its fourth-largest is its former capital, Zomba. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name for the Chewa people who inhabit the area. The country is nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa" because of the friendliness of its people.
Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the prime minister and later president of Malawi from 1964 to 1994.
Music of Malawi has historically been influenced through its triple cultural heritage of British, African, and American music. Malawians have long been travelers and migrant workers, and as a result, their music has spread across the African continent and blended with other music forms. One of the prime historical causes of the Malawian musical melting pot was World War II, when soldiers both brought music to distant lands and also brought them back. By the end of the war, guitar and banjo duos were the most popular type of dance bands. Both instruments were imported. Malawians working in the mines in South Africa and Mozambique also led to fusion and blending in music styles, giving rise to music styles like Kwela.
Zomba is a city in southern Malawi, in the Shire Highlands. It is the former capital city of Malawi.
Bingu wa Mutharika was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democratic Progressive Party, which he founded in February 2005; it obtained a majority in Malawi's parliament in the 2009 general election.
Joyce Hilda Banda is a Malawian politician who was the President of Malawi from 7 April 2012 to 31 May 2014. Banda took office as President following the sudden death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She is the founder and leader of the People's Party, created in 2011. An educator and grassroots women's rights activist, she was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and the Vice-President of Malawi from May 2009 to April 2012. She had served in various roles as a member of Parliament and as Minister of Gender and Child Welfare before she became the President of the Republic of Malawi.
Limbani Kalilani is a Malawian hip hop artist better known by his stage name Tay Grin. In 2009 Tay Grin founded an Entertainment & Event Promotion company, which helps to promote events across Malawi. The company is known as Black Rhyno Entertainment. In 2014, Grin won a Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts (BEFFTA) award for Best International African Act. In 2016, he won the BEFFTA Star Award in the music category. He has performed at the annual Lake of Stars Music Festival. He also won the 2016 WatsUp TV Africa Music Video Awards Best Traditional Video award, with the Video Chipapapa featuring 2baba. He has also won numerous local awards like the Nyasa Music awards and the Urban Music People in categories such as best live act, best video and best Male artist. In 2018, he won the UMP Fashion awards for Most Fashionable Celebrity.
Arthur Peter Mutharika is a Malawian politician and lawyer who was President of Malawi from May 2014 to June 2020. Mutharika has worked in the field of international justice, specialising in international economic law, international law and comparative constitutional law. He informally served as an adviser to his older brother, President Bingu wa Mutharika, on issues of foreign and domestic policy from the onset of his election campaign until the President's death on 5 April 2012.
Rafiq Hajat was a prominent Malawian civil rights activist. He was born in Blantyre. He was the director for the Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI) in Malawi.
The Malawian Defence Force is the state military organisation responsible for defending Malawi. It originated from elements of the British King's African Rifles, colonial units formed before independence in 1964.
The 2012 Malawian constitutional crisis occurred from April 5, 2012 - April 7, 2012 after senior members of the Democratic Progressive Party-led cabinet failed to notify the public of the death of the sitting president, Bingu wa Mutharika on April 5. Instead, cabinet ministers held a series of meetings in Lilongwe, Malawi without vice-president Joyce Banda with the aim of undermining the constitution and Banda's succession to Presidency. News confirming his death had, however, quickly spread across the country through word of mouth, cellphone text messages, Malawian bloggers, Twitter, Facebook, and on listservs by the end of the day on April 5, 2012. Therefore, the failure to announce his death resulted in speculation over the real health of the president and over whether the succession procedures would be followed as outlined in the constitution. According to the constitution, the vice-president takes over but there had been no official word on a successor or communication with the vice-president. Amidst growing speculation, the Cabinet announced that the president's brother, Peter Mutharika, the foreign minister, was the new President of the party on April 6. The Cabinet only announced his death two days after his death, after which Banda became Malawi's first female President.
Charles Shemu Joyah is a producer and director from Malawi. He was born in Zimbabwe. His third movie, The Road to Sunrise, was selected as the Malawian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.
The 9th Africa Movie Academy Awards ceremony honouring movies of 2012 was held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State on 20 April 2013. The event was hosted by actress and former AMAA winner Ama K. Abebrese and Ayo Makun with many celebrities in attendance. The awards' nomination party was held in Lilongwe, Malawi; it was hosted by Her Excellency, President Joyce Banda. A total of 671 films were submitted for consideration across Africa, America, Canada, France, Germany, Guadalupe, Italy, Jamaica, and the United Kingdom. Confusion Na Wa won the best picture award. The late Justus Esiri was awarded the Best Actor in a leading role posthumously.
Felix Mlusu is a Malawian corporate executive and financier who served as the 22nd Minister of Finance in the Government of the Republic of Malawi from 2020 to 2022. Prior to his role in the Treasury he was Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of NICO Holdings from 1994 until his retirement on 31st December 2016.
Grace Chiumia, is a Malawian politician who has served as Minister of Civic education in the Malawian cabinet, since 24 October 2017. Before her current appointment, she was the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, in the Malawian Cabinet, from 6 September 2016 until 24 October 2017.
Flora Suya is a Malawian actress. She was nominated as best actress at the 6th and 9th Africa Movie Academy Awards ceremonies.
Sena railway, also called Shire Highlands railway, Dondo-Malawi railway and North-South Malawi railway, is a railway that connects Dondo, Mozambique, to Chipata, in Zambia. It is c. 1000 km long, in a 1067 mm gauge.
The Last Fishing Boat is a 2012 Malawian drama film written, directed and produced by Shemu Joyah. The film stars Hope Chisanu, Flora Suya, Robert Loughlin in the lead roles. The plot of the film is based on the cultural differences between traditional African values and modernisation. The film won the Best Soundtrack Award at the 9th Africa Movie Academy Awards. The film was screened at the 2014 New African Films Festival.
The Unbroken Spirit, is a 2019 Malawian romantic drama film directed by Imran Kingsly Shaban and produced by Imran Pitersen Kaisi. The film stars Ken Kananji and Bertha Nkhoma in lead roles whereas Abdullah and Kamlanje Fantasia Mkwamba made supportive roles. The film was shot in the Malawi Mangochi District at Che Moto Village.
Fatsani: A Tale of Survival is a 2020 Malawian drama film directed by Gift Sukez Sukali. It follows the life of a young girl Fatsani who is forced to sell bananas in the streets after her school is closed due to sanitation issues. It was selected as the Malawian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.