The Force Behind the MultiChoice Talent Factory

The quality of the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) in the South African film and television industry has insured that graduates enter this cut-throat industry. From creating award-winning producers, directing the biggest shows in South Africa and being at the forefront of creating stories that spark conversions, Bobby Heaney's journey of growing the Academy has been nothing but inspiring.

Heaney started his directing journey by watching how directors at SABC work and from there he worked on Egoli: Place of Gold with Franz Marx, who was known as a writer and producer for Jy Is My Liefling (1968), Agter Elke Man and Susanna Van Biljon (2010).  Through that experience, he worked behind the scenes of American soap operas, Loving and All My Children.  Through those opportunities Heaney got to spend time with each department and observed how television was made, leading him to start his own production house called, Bobby Heaney Production.

He has directed over 50 theatre productions for which he has won many awards including 8 Best Director and Best Production Awards. His production of Saturday Night at the Palace played the Old Vic Theatre in London and toured to Ireland and Sweden. Heaney has produced and/or directed over 100 television programmes including Soul City, Soul Buddyz, MMG Engineers, Jerry Springer's Saturday Night, Redi on Mzansi, Gareth Cliff Show, Laugh Out Loud, African Adventures for Discovery International, five series of Erfsondes, several live concerts, six short films, one made-for-TV feature, and the ground-breaking M-Net soap, The Wild. Heaney is known as a winner of over 30 television awards. One of his greatest projects includes being Nelson Mandela's personal videographer for over a decade and worked with Madiba on over 40 occasions.  

Heaney tells a story of how the academy (MultiChoice Talent Factory) became what it is today, Koos Becker, the founder of M-Net, now known as MultiChoice approached him in 2014 with the idea of starting an academy.  "We are going to give our interns the opportunity to go to professional productions to show what is good, what is bad about television and where we can adjust. Watching people making their mistakes and how they go about making television. That became the basis of what the academy is about", Heaney vividly describes.

Being part of the programme, interns spend the first six weeks with Bobby, where they learn how to hold a camera, properly frame and conceptualise movies. From then on, they move into different productions and roles. For instance, Heaney added, "I will place an intern in the art department in Shaka Ilembe, then move into another department on The River. So, you get to see how a production is made on several different production companies in several different areas." 

The academy is broken down into four sections, which consist of working on four Mzansi Bioskop movies, mentorship, placements at different production houses and Henley Business School.

Another unique aspect of the programme is that interns get taught the knowledge and components needed to successfully run a production house. Heaney firmly emphasised the importance of Henley Business School: "I think it's an area that most people fall down cause we are artists, we are not business people."

Being part of the academy is about more than equipping young graduates with practical skills needed to enter the film industry. When interns leave the programme, they know how do multiple jobs that will allow them to step into a higher role while they know that they have to start from the bottom. For example, "They won't step straight into a director's role except in small movies but if they step into Shaka Ilembe, they'll need to start from the bottom as a junior not as an intern," Heaney commented.

For the past 10 years, MTF has changed the lives of 140 alumni who continue to work together as a family. Heaney points out, "They really have formed a tribe that is helping each other to survive and the more we put our interns out there, the more the industry gains people with the right attitude, respect and getting fair pay. So, we are changing the industry from within."

"15 years ago, I could name the number of black producers, on one hand, but now, we have multiple. In 10, [to] 15 years, who knows how much more we will have."

Heaney believes that if things are done in an ethical manner in the industry, including actors getting equal pay, people being treated with respect and dignity, leading to a more collaborative, creative but ultimately contributes to the success of the industry. Which he spends a lot of time stressing this out by taking the interns on sexual harassment on-set classes.

"We speak to SWIFT, which is an organization that looks after women on the set and the #MeToo movement played a pivotal role in applying such in our programme. The more we have interns who go through the programme, the more we have industry players who understand what sexual harassment on set is, and how to create safe intimacy coordination on set." 

With the graduation of the class of 2024/2025 coming up, Heaney's aspirations for the interns doesn't change. "I hope for them to find work and for me to walk on set and see them. That will mean that we have done our work".

"For me, the memories that stand out the most is the unexpectedness of seeing somebody that we have trained when I walk into a production and they are there. Quite often, I see myself in tears because who knows where that person would be but here, they are making a living, doing what they love the most."

"Lastly, I take my hat off to MultiChoice for keeping this going, I am not sure if there are people who knew this programme would survive this long and that includes, myself," Heaney concludes.