The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is the talk of the town in Botswana, where it was filmed.

The British Council celebrated the film’s release in April by working with the Botswana Tourist Board on the first public screening.

According to Information Manager Clare Nicolson Setlhare, the aim of the music festival that accompanied the screening was to highlight the success of British-Batswana collaboration in arts, explore ways of building on it, and showcase local talent.

“It’s the first time that a major film has been filmed entirely in Botswana,” she says. “The soundtrack for the movie features tracks written and performed by Batswana artists working with British music producers and film-makers. We wanted to highlight this successful collaboration and Botswana’s huge musical talent.”

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is an adaptation of the bestselling series of novels by British author Alexander McCall Smith. The film was directed by British filmmaker Anthony Minghella, who died unexpectedly in March just before the premiere of the film in London. The Academy Award-winning director was also responsible for The English Patient, The Talented Mr Ripley, Cold Mountain, Breaking and Entering and a host of TV and theatre plays.

His last film tells the story of the character Precious Ramotswe, owner of a detective agency at the foot of Kgale Hill in Gaborone. The role is played by American singer, poetess and actress Jill Scott. Mma Ramotswe’s adventures cast a gentle light on human nature, cultural values, social realities and the Botswana way of life.

The film was a production for the BBC in collaboration with the Botswana Tourism Board and The Weinstein Company.

Clare believes that the movie will be a hit. “It will be widely enjoyed, just like the book, which raised so much interest,” she says.

A series of workshops and programmes ran alongside the movie premiere. “The film’s music supervisor, Mike Gillespie, who worked with Anthony Minghella on the musical production of the film, conducted workshops on copywriting of music and how to tap into international markets”

One of the highlights of the festival was a performance by winners of the British Council’s Power in the Voice programme, says Clare. “It’s a storytelling and poetry programme that’s been running for the past three years in Botswana, other countries in Southern Africa and the United Kingdom. Young actors and poets are mentored by well established local and UK actors and poets, and take part in a competition. The competition final was a week before the music festival, which features the top three winners from Power in the Voice. They are high school students and perform alongside established actors and artists, and we hope they will learn from the experience.”

“Mma Ramotswe has brought Botswana to the attention to a wide audience in the UK,” adds Stephen Forbes, Director of the British Council in Botswana. “We anticipate that the film will spark further interest in many aspects of cultural life here, including music.  And we want to bring out the enormous artistic talent in Botswana, especially of young people. We hope to facilitate contacts that benefit everyone involved, especially professional artists and musicians in both countries.”

Asked about Anthony Minghella’s death, Stephen says: “It was very unexpected. We were shocked and saddened, both at the passing of one of Britain’s best known film-makers, and also because he will not see all the positive effects which his collaborative work in Botswana has set in motion. He spent a lot of time in the country during the making of the film, and struck everyone with his generous spirit – towards the extras, the musicians, the budding local film-makers, as well as with the stars. He told me he was hooked by Botswana and he will be sorely missed here. He has made a wonderful contribution to the British-Botswana relationship.”

The festival took place 11-12 April. For more information, email the Information Manager, or contact our Botswana office. Visit the Power in the Voice official website for more details on this exciting programme or keep up-to-date by reading our News in Africa section.