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Acknowledging the importance of creating authentic South African productions, M-Net has made a concerted effort to nurture dynamic television and film talent.
These creatives are given all the support and opportunities needed to thrive among their peers. With almost 40 channels that are largely dedicated to local content, as a broadcaster stretching across the continent, M-Net has successfully used its platform to partner with talent, such as scriptwriter and producer Phathutshedzo Makwarela.
“My relationship with MultiChoice goes back all the way to The Wild. But it was in 2013 – when M-Net reached out to my business partner Gwydion Beynon and me to develop Rockville with Ferguson Films – that the relationship really started to develop.
“When M-Net decided to create 1Magic, it offered us an opportunity to move away from being just writers to becoming producers, even though we had never produced for television before. MultiChoice was like, ‘No, we’ll create the structures for you to be able to thrive as executive producers and creators of the show’,” he says.
Makwarela, from Limpopo, who is the executive producer and co-creator of 1Magic’s hit telenovela The River and head writer of The Queen for Mzansi Magic, says as first-time producers they make mistakes and they stumble, but they have the support they need to learn from those mistakes.
“What has been really great is knowing that whatever challenges you come across in the day-to-day production, their doors are always open so you can reach up to somebody like Yolisa Phahle and Nkateko Mabaso, as well as the rest of their team.
“If there’s a concern, you always know you can pick up the phone and say, ‘This is a stumbling block that I’m coming across in producing the show’ – something that is certainly not the same with other broadcasters. No one engages with its content the way the M-Net team does as a broadcaster.”
Makwarela remembers when he started in the industry. There were about five locally produced soaps, which have since more than tripled because of the need for authentic African stories.
“Soaps are light and easy but when M-Net introduced local telenovelas it shook the industry. Viewers enjoy it because everything is high impact. The story moves fast, the twists are much bigger.
“What has been really interesting is that from the direction telenovelas are going, the quality of daily dramas has suddenly improved. They don’t shoot in studio, they shoot on location. I think they’ve increased the quality of local content.”
He says the launch of M-Net’s Mzanzi Magic and 1Magic has forced the industry to engage differently with the content they create.
“They have entered into a market where they want content that has high-quality effect. For that they’ve been willing to invest in content that is of high quality and make available some of the best cameras in the world. That’s a big commitment from a broadcaster to make sure they actively present quality.
“All of a sudden everyone is more skilled than they would have been. That is the reason for this transition of quality in local content.”
