29/12/2022
M'faweli Tau Mwambo is a producer, actress, Director and script writer. she is popularly known for her role as miranda in zuba as well as naomi in mungoma and featuring in various productions for local and international consumption.
Outside the box had an opportunity to chat with M’faweli as we got to know more about her world.
M’faweli grew up on the Copperbelt Ndola and Is the only girl amongst four boys, “I’m not easily bullied I grew up fighting” she exclaimed. She Spent most of her life in Ndola but after her father passed away, she moved to Lusaka with her mum. In Lusaka is where she met her ex-husband and had two beautiful children together.
M’faweli started acting in late 2018 with no formal training and she says it was by accident. “I was having lunch somewhere at one of the garden resorts and I saw people packing equipment into a car and was curious enough to ask what they were doing. They said they were filming and I asked if I could see what they were doing the next day, he said sure come over and I went there the next day. The girl who was supposed to give a narration received a phone call that she lost her brother. He said I had a nice voice and asked if I could do the narration and I did and it’s been uphill ever since. Surely by accident or God’s design.”
What she likes about acting the most is that with every story or every story line she gets to discover something more about herself and how much more she can do as an actor. “I get to discover more about myself, not about the character but about what I can do. In short, I keep pushing my limits.”
Some of the people that have inspired her along the way are her parents, “they were just full of life and love, they had big hearts. If I have a quarter of their love, I know I would be a great person. Inspiration when it comes to acting, I love the power and subtlety of Angelina Jolie, I love the presence of Viola Davies, I love Denzel’s acting, Michael Cane the clarity in his voice, there are so many different actors that inspire me. They all have different strengths and this is me trying to create a body of a Voltron like and molding myself to it. So, there different people that inspire me to want to do great things.”
Some of her biggest influences in the Zambian industry are Robam Mwape, he plays the role of Mwine Mushi and other roles on Muvi Tv. M’faweli says he has delivered monologues as good as Denzel Washington. “The fact that he is able to play different roles brilliantly and effortlessly, in other words his work is what inspires me and he does have great influence in the way that his able to switch characters.”
Some of the roles M’faweli has played are a Nun in Dalistso which was the first character she ever played. She went on to feature in Mirrors, which Aired on Diamond TV and later went on to play Naomi in the Multichoice talent factory film The Painting. She then went on to play Miranda in Zuba. She has also played Justina in Saving Chalo and also played Naomi Kangwa in Mungoma. “My experience working in the industry has been great so far, it does have its challenges but It has been great. I went into the industry not knowing anyone except for the people that I watched on TV. Each Job I did was my recommendation for the next job and because of that I already had a stamp of respect. Of course, there are challenges when it comes to being in the industry, the time and hours that we put in, but so far it has been a great journey, a learning journey and I love every bit of it.”
Every industry, including the entertainment industry, is full of competition; but M’faweli is not focused on that, she is focused about what she wants to put out, how she wants to help and how she can grow and be more impactful “I feel for me that’s what puts me amidst competition. As an individual I look at my performances from previous work that I have done and how better I can improve myself. I only look at what other people are doing for inspirational and encouragement purposes”
The entertainment industry is said to be full of stress and pressure; M’faweli tackles the pressure that comes with her work by praying when she feels extremely under pressure. “I pray and put my phone on silent and relax for a bit and when I feel the pressure going down, I read a book I love to read, I read all sorts of books action, biography, history and science books. Michio Kaku is my favorite physicist author.”
“I feel like not just about acting but as human beings we are not meant to be limited, we limit ourselves. As an actor, I want to learn things, I want to learn different languages that I know will help my acting as well. I want to Pursue directing, I want to learn the arts of it formally. I want to do a bit of writing as well as film production in general.”
Establishing yourself in any industry is one of the most difficult things to do, when asked how difficult it is it to establish yourself in the film industry in Zambia, she had this to say “To be honest, getting in is not a problem but getting established you really need to put in the work, put in the hours and realize that no role is too small. Most of the people do not fully get established in the Zambian industry because they feel when they’ve have gotten a smaller role then it’s not worth their time. On the contrary people will look at how dedicated somebody is and whatever small responsibility they are given then they will know how much bigger responsibility they can handle.”
A lot of people wonder if the Zambian film industry is lucrative, well according to M’faweli it is quite lucrative “There people who have jobs just to hold lights and make sure the lighting is good, you have script writers, makeup artist, people who make sure you are wearing the right costume. There is money in the film industry, you just need to know not to be taken advantage of. “
M’faweli this year started an organization called Mindset Change Creations which is an organization that is using film as a tool to promote mental health wellness and awareness and encouraging the culture of speaking about what it is that one is going through without fear of judgement, ridicule stigma and even discrimination as well as promoting seeking professional help. “We understand that people relate to visual that’s the reason why we are using film as a tool. The inspiration behind it was when I came out of depression, it was only afterwards that I realized that I was depressed and it got me thinking to see how many people have gone through this without having anyone to share with. It made me think about the support system around, did they not notice that this person was depressed and I felt it necessary to help not just the people experiencing but equip the support system as well. That Is pretty much about Mindset and we are using short film on social media to do that because we know that short film would be more impact because people’s attention span is quite short. Mindset is going to be producing one short film every month on the different mental illnesses, different short films with different actors.”
The inspiration behind her short film mindset comes from her knowing quite a number of couples that have had miscarriages, “with that being said I wanted a story that people could relate to, not in a way that this person was wrong or that person was wrong. I also wanted representation for the men because they also get neglected in that sense and there isn’t really much counselling being given to these people that go through this so, I created a story that wasn’t too obvious. I like to make people think they know then they don’t know, it’s entertaining for me and the response has been great. People have called and messaged asking when the next one is and people have been triggered, emotions shifted from different characters as the film went on and people touched and actually grateful that they had a sense of representation. The response has been absolutely amazing.”
Her advice to our readers who may not be as familiar with her line of work or the budding artist in the industry is that life is meant to be lived. “So, live. Discover new places, have new experiences. Half the time we don’t reach our potential because we limit ourselves. We tell ourselves I can’t, you can, you just don’t want to. If it’s for a good reason sure, but in this life, this gift that we were given we are meant to live and living is about experiencing what this world has to offer. From our talents to who we love, who we create relationships with, how we push ourselves to discover things about ourselves through our work or travels or disputes and how we resolve them. Live! Let’s not reach certain years and wonder what did I do with my life, Live!”
M'faweli Tau
