Tbo Touch goes global with new Covid-19 arts documentary
Effects of the virus in entertainment industry laid bare in new doccie
Radio personality Tbo Touch has bagged an international gig on a documentary aimed at giving the world a glimpse of the effects of Covid-19 on the entertainment industry.
Vaccinating the Arts will be a three-series doccie that zooms into the arts business trying to recover after being crippled by the pandemic worldwide.
Filming for the doccie starts tomorrow to September 30, and the team aims to have it on the screen towards the end of the year.
Tbo Touch, whose real name is Thabo Molefe, is the anchor and executive producer of the international documentary whose aim, he said, was to mobilise people to vaccinate so that venues would yet again be filled with joy from a dancing crowd.
He said they would be travelling to 42 cities between Africa and the US to compare how these two continents are helping the arts industry recover.
He said: “You don’t know how excited I am to be working with Mark Sparks Entertainment on this life-changing project. For me, it is not only about working with an international team, but it’s about teaching the world about the importance of vaccinating so we will be able to gather and enjoy our social lives again. “There has been a serious drought in the arts space and many artists between the two continents have lost their assets because the industry was on a standstill since we were all forced to quarantine,” said the former Metro FM DJ.
The first part of the series will look at how the industry was affected by the virus. This includes interviews with well-known artists who have lost their assets due to little or no income under isolation. “It will be followed by a series that will observe the artists’ reaction to the pandemic and the introduction of the vaccines, while the third series will focus on the acceleration of the arts industry on both continents.
“We will break it down to people and have interviews with these well-known personalities to talk about their personal experiences during this challenging time globally. I am hoping that our arts people will heal, especially in my country because we are back at level four.”
Mark Welch CEO Mark Spark said: “It’s priceless to be on set with someone with such experience of TV and radio. We are thrilled at the opportunity of producing a life-changing programme that will enlighten the rest of the world on how the showbiz industry got back to business.
“We lost significant lives, close friends and great entertainers but through it we all remain resilient and ready to express our creativity against all odds.
“The doccie is also expected to relive some of the protests in the US that took place under the pandemic, such as the greatly publicised #Blacklivesmatter, seeking justice for George Floyd.”