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ZIMBABWEAN-born American author and award-winning film producer Molefe Khumalo Asante, popularly known as MK, says all artists have an obligation after observation.
“Art forms like film are like problem solving. Everyday has problems; you have to figure out how to solve them because at the end of the day you have an obligation,” said Asante while presenting a day-long guest seminar on creative writing and production values at the Zimbabwe Film and Television School for Southern Africa (Ziftesa) in Harare on Wednesday.
Asante, along with Ghanaian-American, Rocky Otoo, are in Zimbabwe courtesy of the American Documentary Showcase programme sponsored by the United States embassy in Harare.
The duo showcased and discussed documentaries at various cultural institutions in Bulawayo and Harare including the Zimbabwe International Film Festival (Ziff), Alliance Francaise and Pakare Paye Arts Centre in Norton.
Asante also made captivating presentations and conducted seminars on various film subjects in the two cities.
An acclaimed filmmaker, Asante directed and produced The Black Candle, a film he co-wrote with Maya Angelou who also narrates the film.
The Black Candle, which Time magazine called “fit for a poet,” won Best Documentary at the 2009 Africa World Documentary Film Festival.
The film features at the 2010 edition of Ziff.
Asante, a tenured professor of creative writing and film in the Department of English and Language Arts at Morgan State University, also wrote and produced the film 500 Years Later, winner of five international film festival awards as well as the Breaking the Chains award from the United Nations.
He says they travelled to 25 African countries exploring the effects of psycho-cultural effects of colonialism and slavery in the Diaspora.
“Our observation was; how come there is no film that explores these things in a way that is really pan-African — a way that is empowering; in a way that after you watch it you actually feel good,” notes Asante.
“Our obligation was that we have to make the film.”
Interestingly, Asante produced his first film before going to film school and he admits: “I learnt a lot about film-making making that film.”
His advice to aspiring film producers: “Get out there and make something, you learn so much when you are making than you will learn from the classroom.
“Crystallise what you get from class but get out there and make something.”
His films were produced through his Asante Filmworx production company.
Asante (28), who left Zimbabwe at two, was raised in Philadelphia, United States and has presented his work in Africa, Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and throughout the USA.
Author of three celebrated books, Asante is the recipient of the 2009 Langston Hughes Award.
His latest book, It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop, was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “An empowering book that moves you to action and to question status quo America.”
His other books include the poetry collections Beautiful. And Ugly Too and Like Water Running Off My Back, which won the Jean Corrie Prize from the Academy of American Poets.
Asante studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, earned his BA from Lafayette College, and an Masters in Fine Arts from the UCLA School of Film and Television.
BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
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