Draft article not currently submitted for review. This is a draft Articles for creation (AfC) submission. It is not currently pending review. While there are no deadlines, abandoned drafts may be deleted after six months. To edit or make changes to this draft, simply click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. To be accepted, a draft should: Show the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article by using multiple sources that meet four criteria. The sources should be (1) reliable (2) secondary (3) independent of the subject (4) talk about the subject in some depth. For some topics, there are alternative criteria. Be written from a neutral point of view Respect copyright and do not plagiarize. Do not copy-paste. It is strongly discouraged to write about either yourself or your business or employer. If you do so, you must declare it. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. How to improve a draft Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia – a basic overview on how to edit Wikipedia. Help:Wikitext – how to use the markup Help:Referencing for beginners – how to include references Wikipedia:Article development – how to develop your article Wikipedia:Writing better articles – how to improve your article Wikipedia:Verifiability – make sure your article includes reliable third-party sources You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Add tags to your draft Editor resources Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs Last edited by Qwerfjkl (bot) (talk | contribs) 3 months ago. (Update) Submit the draft for review!

Lesedi Mphothwe is a Motswana filmmaker, television producer, and entrepreneur. She is the founder and managing director of Butterscotch Productions, a film and television production company based in Botswana, and the co-founder and festival director of the Bantu Film Festival, a Pan-African film festival held annually in Gaborone, Botswana. She is known for championing #AdvocacyThroughFilm, using storytelling as a vehicle for social change within Botswana. [1]

Mphothwe holds a Bachelor of Arts in Motion Picture Medium (Honours), majoring in Producing, from the Africa Film Drama Academy (AFDA). She also holds an Associate Degree in Broadcasting (Television and Radio) from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology.

Mphothwe's first experience in film came when she appeared as an extra in the internationally acclaimed MmaRamotswe television series, an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. This early exposure to the industry sparked her passion for film and motivated her to pursue a career in production.^[1]

Mphothwe founded Butterscotch Productions, a film and television production company, to build on her industry experience and create meaningful media that originates from Botswana by Boaswana. The company's tagline, "Be the Imagination," reflects her emphasis on creativity and her vision of contributing to the growth of Botswana's creative industry through job creation. Under the banner of #AdvocacyThroughFilm, Butterscotch Productions produces content aimed at representing Botswana's stories while advocating for social change.

Mphothwe has worked on several television productions, including:

Lights Off — a 26-episode drama series based on three friends navigating life.

BW Markets — a television show profiling small, micro, and medium enterprises (SMMEs) operating in Botswana. The show aired 13 episodes in 2020 on the online streaming platform UPIC TV.

Hidden Scars (2019) — A social drama set in Zola, a low-income area, following a young girl named Keamogetse and her experiences dealing with abuse from her mother's boyfriend. The film screened at the 2019 Namibia Arts Fair in Windhoek, Namibia.

Cell 10 (2022) — Mphothwe's directorial debut, produced under Butterscotch Productions. The film explores the death penalty, male abuse, and the social perspective of people in Botswana. It premiered at New Capitol Cinemas Riverwalk in Gaborone and was subsequently selected for the First-Time Filmmaker Sessions, hosted by the Lift-Off Global Network via Filmfreeway. The film accumulated at least four official festival selections during its festival run.

Mphothwe co-founded the Bantu Film Festival (BFF) alongside fellow Motswana filmmaker Veronica Pilane as Botswana's premier and first locally produced film festival. The festival is a Pan-African film festival based in Gaborone, Botswana, aimed at celebrating excellence in African cinema and fostering a sense of community among African filmmakers through capacity building, panel discussions, film screenings, and an award ceremony.^[2] The inaugural edition of the Bantu Film Festival was held on 22 October 2022 in Gaborone under the theme "Breaking Boundaries, Creating Networks." The festival has since grown significantly; by its fourth edition, it had received 253 film submissions from 39 countries and had awarded 24 awards since its inception—up from just 10 films screened at the first edition.

The festival has featured films from countries across the African continent, including Botswana, the Congo (DRC), Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its annual programming includes an African attire-themed opening ceremony, masterclasses, panel discussions, film screenings, and a red carpet award night. Mphothwe has described the festival's mission as using film as a universal language that transcends borders: the festival promotes the Botswana film industry and fosters collaboration between local and international filmmakers.

Through a partnership with KOSINIMA, Inc., the Bantu Film Festival launched the Mosadi Writes grant initiative, a scriptwriting competition designed to empower female screenwriters in Botswana. The winning screenwriter receives funding of P10,000 (Botswana Pula) for the production of a 15-minute short film, which is then screened at future editions of the Bantu Film Festival and entered into the festival circuit. The winning film is co-produced by Kosinima, Inc. and Butterscotch Productions.

Mphothwe operates under the principle of #AdvocacyThroughFilm, through which she aims to create content that meaningfully represents Botswana's stories and advocates for social change. She has spoken about Botswana's film industry as an "untapped market," ^[3]noting that developing a strong local industry would require bold projects, investment, a strong work ethic, and effective marketing. She has highlighted key challenges facing the industry, including restricted access to funding, infrastructure limitations, and distribution constraints, while asserting that the sector holds significant economic potential for Botswana, particularly given the country's cultural richness and natural resources.

Mphothwe has received awards from both local and international organizations for her work across the film industry. Specific award details, as reported in public sources, have not been individually enumerated, but her body of work spanning producing, directing, festival organization, and industry advocacy has been acknowledged by multiple industry bodies and media outlets in Botswana and beyond.

• Bantu Film Festival
• Butterscotch Productions
• Botswana film industry
• MmaRamotswe (TV series)
• Limkokwing University of Creative Technology