Mzansi needs to harness arts talent

SOUTH Africa is blessed with extraordinary talent, more especially when it comes to the arts. We have great musicians, great poets, comedians and painters.

Our artists don ’ t only become great within our borders, but move on to conquer the world, with their talent, becoming great ambassadors for SA.

In the same breath, the South African arts sector has many challenges that leave some artists frustrated and even opting for different paths in life rather than depend on the arts.

While there is so much improvement in the arts sector, the reality is that we cannot overcome all our challenges overnight.

Another important component of the local arts is the film industry. Indeed, the South African film industry is taking good shape and we are seeing more home-brewed films at local cinemas. Some even win global awards or receive notable mentions.

What is left for us now is to develop an audience for local movies. But in order to increase demand for these films, we need to improve the quality and supply to places such as cinemas to build muchneeded hype around locally-produced films.

If we produce quality movies people will flock to cinemas to watch movies that resonate with them.

Since our younger generation is savvy with technology, we could start community film festivals in which young people make films telling their own stories.

It doesn t have to be high- quality and expensive productions, but such an initiative could inspire youngsters to realise their potential in film in the future, whether as producers, actors, directors, scriptwriters or any other role.