Actor’s career boost through online portal

By Confidente Reporter

FOR Adriano Visagie, a lead actor in the critically acclaimed movie ‘Salute’, his discovery of the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) portal led to a multitude of projects for him within Namibia’s creative industry.

The portal is an interactive online platform aimed at profiling and connecting Africa’s industry creatives and bringing pan-African talent and opportunities together in one place.

Visagie’s exposure to the platform was through a master class hosted by MultiChoice Namibia in 2019, which he described as “the first of its kind” and his career has seen an incredible shift since.

“The master classes were hosted with the notion of different methods of storytelling, at the same time the MTF Portal was launched and I had the opportunity to sign up and register,” said Visagie.

“The master class I attended allowed me to write and understand African storytelling much better as well as do more research about African stories. For a moment, we have forgotten the importance of the narrative related to the stories we were told growing up in the village under the tree or around the fire.”

Using the MTF Portal, Visagie connected with South African voice over artist, host and media practitioner, Sisanda Ntshinga who currently hosts a variety of online shows, including ‘On the Couch’, a weekly show focusing on phenomenal creatives in the world of business and those doing social good.

“After linking up on the portal, we exchanged contacts and connected via social media. Sisanda and I shared ideas regarding online shows especially during the current pandemic where mass gatherings couldn’t take place.”

Recommending the portal to everyone, Visagie feels it deserves more sign-ups. “The portal provides such a great network of creatives. Being able to collaborate especially now more than ever is necessary seeing that online is the new normal.

It’s imperative we look and harness collaborative work.”

Visagie has since collaborated with Beso Media and Monochrome Magazine to interview Namibian creatives allowing them to share their creative processes, and how they had to adapt, due to the global pandemic on his show ‘Live with Adriano’.

“Due to a lack of funding, we have put it on hold for now however we’re eager to continue with the show.

We want to make sure that we are able to pay the creatives we interview with a little incentive for sharing their expertise.”

Despite the show’s pause, this has not discouraged Visagie from sharing more Namibian stories. “The master classes have harnessed the craft of writing for me too and the uniqueness of telling a Namibian story. They are indeed a full package as you get to understand the different forms it takes for a narrative to be produced … understanding the financial aspects and most importantly, the pivotal role each person plays in creating a story. That is what’s important – echoing every person from make-up to editing and the entire post production role.”

This year saw great success for the award-winning actor – he worked on two films, namely

‘Sacred Places’ by Lloyd Winini and ‘Kapana’ by Philippe Talavera. He has since completed an online theatre production titled ‘Boet en Sus’ for the National Theatre of Namibia, which local award winning artist Lize Ehlers directed.

“I am also involved in a theatre talk show focusing on the coloured community and drag culture in Namibia.

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