M-net Face of Africa 2009 begin new season

In Africa, the search for one person to represent the face of Africa has led the way to finding iconic and unforgettable African styles.

The search for M-Net’s Face of Africa started yesterday Saturday October 31 and will run for 17 weeks. The legendary competition returns to television screens once more to tell a story of hope and opportunity.

As the journey from Africa’s busy streets to Africa’s glamorous catwalks continues, Face of Africa will cross countries, uncover fresh new faces, and chart their rise to the top, from discovery to success, from potential to fame, from possibility to reality.

Along the way, audiences will discover how Nigeria’s gorgeous duo of Blessing Bassey and Marvis Chinelo Offor were discovered at this year’s auditions and how far they’ve progressed in the competition.

So far 24 models from 16 countries were selected to participate in Model BootCamp, in Mombasa in Kenya. This idyllic tropical paradise with its breathtaking shoreline will serve as backdrop for another selection round amidst modeling workshops, fashion photo-shoots and television filming.

Africa Director Biola Alabi stated that “as M-Net readies itself to screen a new expanded series, on the project’s legacy, its aims and its outcomes overtime, has shown it is so much more than just fashion and beauty. There is a bigger picture there to see, something more than shoes, cameras and clothing. It’s about young women with so much courage that they will leave their homes to find new experiences, so much determination that they will venture into the unknown to discover themselves and so much passion that will chase their dreams”.

The winner receives a cash prize of USD 50 000 and a modeling contract with O Model Africa. Auditions for the new season began earlier this year in 14 countries – Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  Further entries were opened online to entrants from across sub-Saharan Africa who wished to participate, thus gaining entries from as far afield as Sudan and Cameroon. The next step was the casting sessions where a special team of model scouts evaluated entries and selected contestants to continue in the series. With stops scheduled in Johannesburg as well as a second Model BootCamp in Dar es Salaam at Swahili Fashion Week, plus the shooting of a music video with Nigerian superstar D’Banj, the Face of Africa adventure will be told every Saturday evening on M-Net West, in the lead-up to the Face of Africa 2009 Finale, to be held in Lagos on Saturday February 6, 2010.

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