The solar powered mobile cinema comes equipped with a micro projector, a tripod, a drop down screen and a battery.
- High data costs, airtime and a lack of Wi-Fi make it difficult for African audiences to access locally made movies.
- A solar-powered mobile cinema initiative is increasing accessibility to African films while creating training and job creation opportunities.
- Since it started 10 years ago, Sunshine Cinema has trained more than 80 young people across southern Africa.
- For news and analysis on climate change, go to News24 Climate Future.
A South African film initiative, Sunshine Cinema, is creating training and employment opportunities for young people, using solar-powered cinemas.
These mobile theaters were developed by husband and wife team Rowan Pybus and Sydelle Smith, in 2013.
Pybus and Smith both have a background in film and were inspired to start Sunshine Cinema when they realized they couldn’t reach audiences in Africa. Smith says the high cost of data, airtime and lack of Wi-Fi make it difficult for African audiences to access locally made movies.
They had worked on Amazing Grace, a film that documents the journey of Lloyd Maanyina, a Zambian man who used to cut down trees to burn charcoal for income. A change of heart caused Maanyina to start planting trees as a “pay back” to nature. But Maanyina had not been able to see the award-winning film about his life.
In response, Pybus and Smith developed the Sunshine Cinema. In addition to promoting African storytelling, the initiative also supports training for youth in rural and peri-urban areas, including informal settlements in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi. “We train young people to be media entrepreneurs capable of earning an income while sharing locally relevant movies…” says Smith.
The training program is designed in collaboration with the Department of Film and Media at the University of Cape Town.
Participants in his training program, also known as Sunshine Ambassadors, learn basic photo and video production, audience facilitation, and media entrepreneurship. They also gain work experience.
“Since May 2021, more than 40 young South Africans have earned an income from the skills acquired on the show through impact projections, professional photography, short video production, social media design and management, graphic design and other freelance opportunities. digital marketing. On average, most have earned between R1,000 and R5,000 a month,” says Smith.
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The Sun Ambassadors are also equipped with a mobile cinema kit known as a sunbox, which is used for screenings.
The sunbox includes a portable photovoltaic solar energy system: this is a battery that is charged by solar panels. The battery is then used to power the rest of the equipment needed for projection, such as the projector. “Solar [power] it was chosen because it is a green, renewable solution to our growing carbon-based electricity crisis,” adds Smith. It is also possible to charge the battery via grid-connected power,” says Smith.
Other items in the solar box include a tripod or mount for the projector, blackout material, a drop-down screen, and a camera for the Sunshine Ambassador to document the projection.
Ambassadors go to local community halls, day care centers, shipping containers, or whatever space is available to them to set up the theater and host screenings. They can choose movies to screen from Sunshine Cinema’s catalog of over 80 movies. They earn a “continuous work fee” for each screening they facilitate.
In turn, its local audiences have the opportunity to discuss the themes explored in the film, which are often relevant issues that affect their lives.
Morena Mofokeng is one of Sunshine’s ambassadors. She shows movies to her community at Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg. Before her formation with Sunshine Cinema, she was an independent filmmaker and now she earns five times what she used to, she told News24.
Morena Mofokeng screens films in her community at Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg.
Kamogelo Morake supplied
Mofokeng says the initiative is having a positive impact in his community. The films address issues such as gender violence, poverty and teenage pregnancy. This gives people the confidence to open up and ask for help. Mofokeng said he has been able to direct people to organizations where they can get the help they need.
“Some of these films allowed members of the community who had no voice to open up and engage in conversations about certain topics. We even refer them to a professional organization if we can help them,” Mofokeng said.
Smith says that the core of what they do is empower young people to be active citizens through film. “The way you can physically bring people together through a movie screen is a very powerful tool for dialogue and engagement… Storytelling is such an ancient form of communication, especially in Africa. We found out who we are through the stories we tell about ourselves and our communities.”
