Maxwell Simba ’19, Kenyan star of the Netflix film, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, has launched his very own production company, Young Blak and Talented Vision Studios (YBTVS). The studio is the final product of Maxwell’s hard work during his ALA journey and his desire to create a space to support African creatives on the continent.
While working on a film project in Kenya in 2019, Maxwell identified the need for a solution to the lack of support which individuals in the film and wider creative industries receive when working on projects.
With the support of a few ALA faculty members, Maxwell started building YBTVS on campus and has been able to bring it to life.
In addition to the support of ALA staffulty members and as part of the Entrepreneurial Leadership program at ALA, Maxwell has connected with world-renowned CEOs and visionaries to gain additional support and strategy advice. On March 12th, the whole community witnessed the birth of the project as Maxwell launched the new YBTVS website.
From Left to Right: Natalia Sikombe – Entrepreneurial Leadership Fellow from Tanzania, Dr Sarah Kgagudi – Director of Creative Arts and Events from South Africa and Ssanya Sematimba – Entrepreneurial Leadership Teaching Fellow from Uganda, were among the faculty members who helped bring Maxwell’s dream of a creative studio to life.
The YBTVS team of creatives includes fellow ALA classmate Johnson Thompson Daniel ‘19 from Tanzania, Emanuel Sakala a music composer from Zambia, and Kevin Kattam, a Digital Artist from Kenya.
On campus, Maxwell can be found at every event filming and capturing the essence of the ALA community and he believes that supporting creatives and telling the African story is crucial to the success of the African continent by establishing itself as a creative force to be reckoned with.
The next step for Maxwell is finding the funding he needs to establish and build his studio. His goal is to raise US$10 000 for this purpose before he heads to Dartmouth College in September 2021.
