Universe Films members
Mohalenyane Phakela
A GROUP of Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (LUCT) film students is working on a short musical film to broaden their filmmaking range.
The group, Universe Film, was formed in 2014 with their debut film The Ghost winning the best student film accolade at the 2014 Lesotho Film Festival awards.
According to Universe Film co-founder, Lebohang Motlomelo, the short musical film would be 20 minutes long and titled Make a Wish with a romantic theme. He said most locally-produced films were consigned within the action and drama categories, yet there were other filmmaking styles that could be explored.
“There are many film genres we can explore as filmmakers, but we have limited ourselves to a few which have limited our talents,” he told the Weekender this week.
“We chose a musical because our music industry is growing and everybody knows what romance is. So, it will not be difficult for the viewers to relate to the film. In any case, Basotho have already been exposed to a number of foreign musical films, so it will not be difficult for them to relate to our idea.”
Motlomelo said the film would be distributed for free to reach a wider audience.
“We are still studying at LUCT, but we don’t need to wait for a degree to pursue our dreams. We are hoping this project will inspire others to do the same,” he said.
“The film will be distributed for free through various channels because we hope to reach every Mosotho. The film will also be submitted to various international film festivals.”
Motlomelo added they were seeking sponsorship for Make a Wish to become a feature film.
“We hope to find sponsors to help us make it a feature film which will also include tourism attractions around the country. We can’t afford to make it a feature film because we are financing the project from our pockets.”
