After a two-year break, 4Kaya, brains behind Malawian movie, School Days is back with another classic production, Welcome to Maula Prison expected to be premiered on May 3 in Lilongwe.

Public Relations Officer for 4Kaya, Désirée Namachotsa said this is a special production with a special message on prison life demystifying the notion that it is a place for punishment.

“As the team was coming up with this movie, they wanted to dive into spaces that Malawians don’t usually dive into. So, asking and finding out stories of the people that are in prison, we really did want to also bridge the gap that is between the community as well as people that are within the prison premises,” she explained.

She added that the movie, third production by 4Kaya was shot within Maula prison in Lilongwe and has a majority of new faces in the cast including inmates in the prison identified from auditions that were conducted at Bingu National Stadium in the city.  

The Malawi Prison Services national spokesman Assistant Superintendent Steve Meke said they are hopeful the movie will help change the mindset people have on ex-convicts and welcome them in the society to make meaningful development contributions.

“For quite some time people have been creating stories that are not true about Malawi Prison Service but with this film they will be able to see exactly what steps the MPS is taking to reform and rehabilitate inmates at different levels,” Meke said.

The wrong perception about life in prison he said often results in communities failing to integrate people that have been released from prison after serving their sentences.

Besides Malawi Prison services, production of the movie has also been supported by Universal Service Fund under Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority with K17 million kwacha as part of promoting creation of content for Malawian society on media platforms.

Head of the fund Ronald Tembo said the Fund was established under the Communications Act with the sole purpose of covering gaps in the communication sector

“So this production falls under what we call content development program which aims to advance development of content that is relevant for Malawians,” he added.

The support towards production of Welcome to Maula Prison is part of a K200 million funding USF set aside for the current cohort of beneficiaries in the creation of content such movies, documentaries, talk shows and podcasts for purposes of enriching television sets and social media. 

This is the third movie by 4Kaya after Where my Heart Belongs and School Days.