After winning double awards: the “Life Time Comedy Award” from the hands of top international comedian Giant German Gina and an iconic award by the Liberia Movies Union (LIMU), the producer of the all-time “normal days” series, Malawala Balawala, has vowed to inspire young artists.
Mr. Kekura Kamara, alias “KK” or by his popular film name “Balawala,” said in order to keep the memory alive and to keep inspiring the new group of comedians and artists, plans are underway to launch “Balawala Reloaded” with a sponsor already in sight.
Looking at our achievements, I am grateful. We impacted many artists and still want to do more. We want to continue giving them the training and knowledge to motivate them to take over from us,” said Mr. Kamara.
Mr. Kamara, also a famous television presenter of the Liberia National Television (LNTV), then ELTV, started his acting career back in the mid-80s with the Liberia Jungle Dance Group, which made headway before staging the Balawala television series.
In a bid to restore lasting peace to Liberia, Mr. Kamara and Balawala International participated in the disarmament process across the country by creating awareness through cultural performances and sensitization. During the process, the group worked with 12 other organizations of traditional communicators to spread messages of peace and the need for disarmament. The group has also helped create awareness around HIV/AIDS.
“As a result of our participation, many of the young people saw the need to disarm, and today, many of the artists are following our path.”
“Our goal now is to inspire, and with the support of Dr. Clarice Kulah, We want to bring back Malawala Balawala Reloaded. We got a new story of the new Balaala; it captures the war and post-war eras. We will feature new artists. We are coming back with the new version that will capture a new generation of actors so as to enhance the promotion of our cultures and values,” he stated.
The veteran Liberian actor and television personality then called on the Government of Liberia (GoL) to support the artistic industry.
“I want to call on the Government of Liberia to look at culture as one of the priorities that can help propagate and maintain peace. This will help to promote our value; we need more investments in the sector so that our entertainment industry can flourish. We are way behind our neighbors, who are making headway. We need to catch up. I think that much can be achieved with the establishment of the copyright office. We need private sector investment because we need travel for exposure,” added Mr. Kamara.
