By Sharon Muguwu
Not a week passes without comedians from Bustop TV releasing various skits for the public’s entertainment.
The popular faces are Comic Pastor, Doc Vikela, Magi and Gonyeti but there is also an unsung hero, the man behind the scenes who brought the production to life.
His name is Luckie Aaroni.
“I, used to think that local people don’t like local film production only to realise that they like our own local productions, they just love good productions. If you produce good products, people will support you.
“I now believe in the idea of collaborations. Bustop is a success because of collaborations of young people with different skills.
“We have Doc Vikela and Comic Pastor who are talented in the area of stand-up comedy. We have Gonyeti who is an experienced screen actor while Magi and I have knowledge in filmmaking.
“Godknows Homwe is a marketer and has knowledge in business administration and social media, while Dereck Nzwiyakwe has knowledge in theatre and performing arts. So collaborations are the way to go,” he said.
His journey started in high school, with an interest in films.
“I am a graduate of Zimbabwe Film and Television of Southern Africa (ZIFTESA) with a diploma in film and television productions.
“My interest in film started back when I was in high school, I started with writing stories. Then Dorothy Chidzawo introduced me to Aaron Chiundura Moyo not as a writer but as an actor and I got a chance to be part of Tiriparwendo TV series.
“From there, I started getting acting jobs, but because I was still in high school, I had to do small roles. On weekends I would visit Studio 263 shoots without any invite. I would collect few pages of scripts, copying the scripts formats from there,” said Aaroni.
He used to take part in several productions in high school.
“During my high school days I joined Youth on Film International which was being organised by the Zimbabwe-Germany Society.
“Me and other students we then did our first documentary with the help of Kumbulani Zamuchiya who taught us more stuff on film,” he said.
The 27-year-old wrote and produced his first production before going to film school.
“Soon after high school I applied for film school and before they confirmed my place I had made my first short film. I wrote, directed, produced and acted in it, it featured friends and family.
“I have worked on documentary projects, short films, TV adverts, and corporate videos,” said Aaroni.
In 2014, he was hired as an editor at Minibuzz Zim.
“After that we went on to create POBOX with fellow friends from film school. After they left to start their own project we decide to rebrand to Bustop TV.”
Although they have made waves on social media, even performing live at some events, the corporate world is yet to fully embrace Bustop TV.
“A few corporates have been supporting us since we started this production. We still have a challenge to some extent as most corporates are still not taking social media as big deal in marketing their products.
“They find it hard to pay well because to them it is just a random video. Only a few understand and appreciate what we do.
“That is why up to today we haven’t got any sponsorship deal but you find musicians get corporate deals.
“But if you check our statistics, the number of people who watch our videos in a month doubles the number of people who attended music shows,” said Aaroni. Daily News