Malawi youngsters flock to see films made in China

Chinese movies have found popularity among the youth in Malawi. With a wide range of Chinese movies available in the country, many people can now enjoy Chinese entertainment in show halls, homes and through the internet.

Luis Ndalama, 38, a business owner who has been running a videodisc business for more than 15 years in Blantyre, the country's second-largest city, says that Chinese movies have become more popular among the youth in the country in recent years, which has boosted his sales revenue.

Ndalama says his customers have been enjoying Chinese movies for a long time, however, because of the language barrier, many of them used to have difficulty in following them.

"But, over time, we have seen that many Chinese movies are being packaged with supporting subtitles, this helps many of my customers to understand them better," Ndalama says.

"To simplify things, a lot of movies are being translated into our local language (Chichewa) in order to ensure that everyone can follow them. Because of that, many people are willing to pay for these movies," he says.

Chinese movies are also helping Malawians to learn about Chinese culture. Many young people are able to explain and identify things they learned about China from the movies.

Samuel Khama, 19, a resident of Blantyre, says he enjoys watching Chinese movies online and they are among his favorite. Samuel is able to see all the latest movies from China, unlike people in the villages who are still watching old movies due to the lack of internet access there.

"It's always fun watching Chinese movies. At first it was very hard to understand them because of differences in language, food, clothes, dancing, and many other cultural elements. But now, there are a lot of things that I know about China through the movies. For instance, I know about kung fu, the Great Wall, food like biang biang noodles and many other interesting things about China,"Khama says.

Among many of the Chinese movies available in Malawi, the most famous are Kung Fu Hustle, Wolf Warrior, IP man and Drunken Master. It is hoped that the relationship between Malawi and China will keep on growing as the two countries continue to share their cultural and social values.

Xinhua