NEWS & UPDATES

The National Arts Council of Botswana, in collaboration with Alliance Française de Gaborone, hosted a vibrant Botswana Cultural Night to extend a warm welcome to France's State Minister, Dr. Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, on her inaugural state visit to the country.

During her visit, the French State Minister engaged with young creative and cultural practitioners, including Tanlume Enyatseng, Tefo Paya, Moreetsi Gabang, Galaletsang Moeng and our own chairperson, Nikita Mokgware.  They were able to speak on the film industry, creative sectors, and how their trips to France the previous year had helped them grow their businesses and creative reach respectively.

 Abigail Olebogeng's entrepreneurial prowess has once again garnered recognition as she secures a coveted spot in the #KwathuUpgrade Leading Legacy - Herstory Edition. Her journey to success gained momentum earlier this year when she clinched the third position out of a hundred participants in the prestigious Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, hosted by Mebala Youth Studios.

With her dedication and innovative spirit, Abigail continues to blaze a trail in the entrepreneurial landscape, embodying resilience and excellence. Her selection for the #KwathuUpgrade Leading Legacy - Herstory Edition is a testament to her remarkable achievements and the impact she's making within the entrepreneurial community.

Serena Mmifinyana, co-founder and vice chairperson of WIF Botswana, was recently elected as Secretary of the Board for Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI),  marking a significant milestone in her career and for women in the industry worldwide.

Having represented Botswana at the WIFTI summit held in Finland in 2023, Serena seized the opportunity to forge valuable connections with her international counterparts. Her dedication to the advancement of women in film and television has been unwavering, and this latest achievement solidifies her commitment to fostering inclusivity and empowerment within the industry.Join us in congratulating Serena on her new role and in celebrating her ongoing contributions to the global film and television landscape.

 WIF Botswana celebrates another first this year: our first masterclass! We collaborated with Mebala Studios to host a class on international travel in film: why it's necessary and how it can benefit the average filmmaker. It highlighted the importance of "being in the room" and the chairs, Nikita Mokgware and Serena Mmifinyana, were more than happy to speak about it!

Coming from their successful trips to the Cannes Film Festival and Durban Filmmart, they shared their experiences and advice to a very engaged crowd. Many of the questions highlighted how hungry this industry is to be informed about all these opportunities for them, and so we are more inspired than ever to continue sharing and learning with our fellow filmmakers!

 WIF Botswana's chairs lost no steam once they returned from Cannes! They immediately set their sights on Durban Film Mart 2023 and were able to attend! Not only were they able to reconnect with partners met at Cannes, they were also able to support fellow Motswana filmmaker  Moreetsi Gabang who was in the running of winning the NEFTI Competition with his film "Zombie Date Night in Tlokweng."

Spoiler alert: it won! Batswana's stories have something to say, and we hope this win will show they're worth listening to!

"In a new initiative, KOSINIMA and Bantu Film Festival - run by WIF Members Lesedi Mphothwe and Veronica Pilane - are proud to launch this exciting partnership, Mosadi Writes, that will support and showcase the creativity of Botswana's female screenwriters with a P10,000 grant. Led by filmmaker Oluwaseun Babalola, the goal is to create funding opportunities to support African/African diaspora storytelling in all its glory, outside the traditional structures."

"Mosadi (meaning “woman” in Setswana) Writes seeks bold and innovative screenplays that push boundaries. The winning screenwriter will have their film produced by Kosinima, Inc. and Butterscotch Productions. The completed film will be screened during the Bantu Film Festival and future Kosinima, Inc. short film screenings."

 Submissions are now open! Click here to apply!

 Picture it: you're attending a Forbes 30 under 30 event and find yourself speaking to the woman seated next to you. You speak of your guild, your hopes and dreams for the industry, and next thing you know she's offering to fund said dreams!

This was what WIF Botswana Vice-Chair, Serena Mmifinyana, experienced when she first met the founders of Female Invest, a financial education and community platform, who provided a generous donation that was the tipping point for our Cannes Film Festival campaign. It truly was a lesson in the power of networking, and connecting with people around the world willing to help us realise our full potential as creatives and women in business. 

You can visit their (pretty awesome) website by clicking here. 

 Our very first Annual General Meeting done and dusted! We were able to have our all-important once-a-year meeting! It was lovely engaging with our membership, and informing them of our plans, as at the end of the day they are who we serve, and we must keep their best interests at all times. So much in store for all of us, we cannot wait to get going!

We also received Alliance Francaise Gaborone as a guest for our meeting, which we received as a huge honour. It meant a lot that they were willing to show up and support the women in our industry, and so we look forward to our future as a guild, a society and a community!

 The lovely Loide Nantinda agreed to sit down with us for a virtual session on funding international trips as a creative, and the realities that come with that. We learnt so much in terms of how resourceful one must be and the importance of having connections already at your destinations. It's not easy, but Loide affirmed that it is always, always worth it. 

Loide Nantinda is a Director who holds a New York Film Academy Documentary filmmaker/director Diploma (2017). She is based in Windhoek Namibia, constantly travelling for work and projects

 This month, WIF Botswana collaborated with a Kgotla Films, a UK-based society enterprise, to host workshops in various local educational institutions. Kgotla Films provided the hands-on mentorship, and WIF Botswana presented on the topic of the African film industry, its potential and why Botswana, as talented as we are, still have a long way to go to catch up.

This workshop really opened the eyes of attendees in terms of what's out there, and what needs to be done to do better and be better for the sake of all our futures. Looking forward for more to come!

 We got a feature in the local newspaper this week covering our talk at our Creative Cafe session hosted by the University of Botswana. It's always uplifting to be seen and appreciated, so trust that we do not take this lightly! 

If you can, grab yourself a copy and see what we covered at the lovely event!

 The University of Botswana honoured us with a Creative Cafe session where we were able to speak to more people on who we are and what we're here to achieve. WIF Botswana's Chairperson and co-founder, Nikita Neo Mokgware, began the presentation speaking more on that.

Her Vice-chair and fellow WIF Botswana co-founder, Serena Serene Mmifinyana, then spoke on our international collaborations so far, and our treasurer Morongoa Mosetlhi spoke on our budget plans, membership subscriptions and our oversight structures. In the end, WIF Botswana was able to get informative and helpful feedback from the attendees to the Creative Cafe, such as suggestions for future proposals and other opportunities to help the industry.

 All Botswana Screen Society (BOSS) Members and those wishing to join BOSS Guilds/Associations were invited for a General Meeting at Thapong Visual Arts in Gaborone, Botswana. The purpose of this Meeting was to update the industry on the progress being made as well as sharing ideas to build the industry in this new year. 

This meeting was vital to attend, as we can no longer sit by and watch others make decisions on our behalf without our knowledge. We all deserve to speak directly to the leaders in our industry and question their motives, plans and offer our support when needed. It's time for change by working together, not alone!

It has been said that IMDb is the LinkedIn for the film and television industry, and they were not wrong. Profiles on this site are regularly requested for, and are the first ones to visit when researching a fellow colleague. As an affiliate of WIFTI, we have the benefit of receiving a 30% discount on our personal IMDbPro profiles. 

This is afforded to all registered members of the guild, who may request the promo code from members of our executive committee.  It makes a difference for filmmakers that finally have enough to subscribe, and can save those extra few bucks in the process! A worthy investment, and a much-appreciated gesture.

WIF Member Lebogang Mpofu had a year of incredible wins and exciting beginnings! We are proud to announce Ms Mpofu has been chosen as the coordinator of Botswana in the Afro International Film Market and Festival! A spectacular achievement that is truly deserved. We know she will do what she does best and triumph in her new role!

Not only that, but she was also the recipient of a Varsity Film Expo Accolade for all of her work done in the film and television industry.  Our Vice-Chair Serena Mmifinyana also attended the ceremony to congratulate and support, as we want to show we're more than just filmmakers; we're a community. Congratulations once again, Ms Mpofu!

A quick general meeting to round off the year, and prepare for the next. WIF Botswana had our first general meeting this year and it was nice to finally put faces to the names in our Whatsapp group! Since we're a new society, our first year (2022) is sort of a free pass, allowing us to get things in order without worrying too much about reporting back to Registrar of Societies.

Therefore, since 2023 will be the year to get serious, we all sat down and discussed logistics to prepare. Here's to a fruitful 2023 for us all!