Edward Tsumele

Edward Tsumele

Video directors have once more been given an opportunity to shine a second year in a row by MTV-based Networks Africa and Shell.

The pan-African music entertainment network and Shell have joined forces to create a second season of the MTV Making the Video Challenge with Shell.

The initiative is designed to challenge and empower young directors and movie makers to develop skills that will improve Africa's pool of music video talent.

Featuring high-profile contemporary African musicians, MTV Making the Video Challenge with Shell puts African filmmakers and music video directors in direct contact with their peers from the international directing scene, allowing them to gain new skills and share insights while engaged in the creation of a state-of-the-art music video.

The initiative also gives them direct experience of collaborating with a wellknown artist on the creation of a music video.

Touring South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana between this month and next month, the MTV Making the Video Challenge with Shell sets up a competition between four teams of directors in each region.

The four teams compete against each other to come up with the most creative, original conceptual video for a given song or track.

While each team has complete autonomy to realise their own vision, they will be mentored during the contest by the international director.

Other elements of the campaign will include an open question and answer session with the international director, a series of half-hour TV programmes based on the challenge, and a music video premiere in each region.

Having started on August 25, the first MTV Making the Video with Shell challenge partners Little X, the Toronto-born music video director behind cutting edge music videos with Sean Paul, Jay-Z and Rihanna, with South African video directors, Bleksem and Mozambique's Dama do Bling on their exciting single collaboration, Thula Uzoyiboma.