Meet Eddie Chitate – Visionary Behind Africa’s Newest TV & Film Streaming Platform, NOFTV

Eddie Chitate is a Zimbabwean-born producer, writer and director. He boasts over 20 years in the television, film, media business and deal structuring.

Hailing from Kadoma, Zimbabwe – Chitate was raised with 5 siblings and attended Catholic school from an early age. His parents were politically instrumental in the liberation of Zimbabwe and held professions as Medical Doctor and Nurse respectively.

He attended St George’s College, Harare and later attended university in the United States of America at Kennesaw State University in Marietta, Georgia – in pursuit of a BA in International Relations minoring in Psychology. Eddie then attended Catholic University of America in Washington, DC – completing a MA in International Political Economy.

Shortly after his tertiary studies, Eddie followed his passion for creating by moving from Washington DC to Los Angeles to chase his filmmaking dreams. Having put himself through college waiting on tables, he figured he would have to do the same in LA while waiting for his big break. Through a fortunate meeting, Eddie discovered Alley Kat Studios in Hollywood and was offered a job; leaving Eddie with the responsibility of looking after some of the biggest talent in the world as assistant manager. During his 6-8 months at the studios, Eddie encountered some of the biggest entertainment icons such as Diddy, Will Smith, Michael Jackson, Halle Berry, Backstreet Boys, and more. While stationed at this position, he wrote and managed to raise money to fully produce his very first feature film, Almost Too Late.

Thereafter, he worked on music videos as well as on another feature film – Faux Pas; further entrenching him in the film and entertainment industry; making connections with industry peers such as Emmy Award Winning casting director Robi Reed for joint partnerships on a few projects. Forging a relationship they maintain to date.

In 2005, Chitate came to South Africa to shoot a historical action drama Nzinga; starring Sanaa Lathan, Kerry Washington, Peter Mensah and Joaquinm de Almeida.  Set to be directed by the legendary Euzhan Palcy the project was later shelved due to a financial set back. While in South Africa, Chitate realized the numerous film opportunities available and decided to stay.  After his decision to relocate, he was approached by Ma Afrika Films to work as a consulting producer on two of their feature films – Winnie Mandela starring Jennifer Hudson & Terrence Howard; and A Million Colors starring Wandile Molebatsi & Jason Hartman.

Eddie Chitate launched Brainstorm Entertainment in South Africa, with Amabubesi as his partners. Over the years, Brainstorm would see success with film and television shows for both local and international markets.  The first feature film Eddie produced was Killing of Wendy(Divas in the USA).

Through the leadership of Eddie, Brainstorm Entertainment has been responsible for negotiating a licensing deal with Vibe Media for Sub-Saharan Africa; as well as negotiating with NBC/Universal to be the first African Producer to create original African shows for E! channel 124 on DSTV. His TV reel speaks volumes about his creative producing abilities – being the first to introduce E! Red Carpet coverage for South Africa’s events; as well as Beyond the Red Carpet for the SAFTAS. Playing a major role in our entertainment – Chitate has produced E! VIP (Africa’s version of E! True Hollywood Story); Channel O Top 10 Most – most notably collaborating with Forbes Africa to compile their very first entertainment who’s who list; E! Celebrity Profiles and many more. Eddie was also the creator and Executive Producer of Diamond In The Ruff – a modelling reality series for Mzansi Magic.

Not limited to just television, Eddie has also produced/directed feature films Jury Divided, Zion, The Fox and more.  He’s also produced a short visual piece for SA hip hop artist AKA, that accompanied the multi-award winning studio album Levels.

Equally armed with a keen eye for spotting talent, Eddie has jump started careers for the likes of Gail Mabalane, Ayanda Thabethe, Blue Mbombo, Jesse Suntele, Bontle Modiselle, Nompilo Gwala, Gcina “Dotcom” Kula and many more.

August 2020 sees Eddie Chitate through Brainstorm Entertainment, launch a streaming platform, NOFTv – targeted at urban youth across the African continent.

Notoriously private, Eddie has eschewed publicity but that doesn’t mean he isn’t busy working hard to make his vision to take entertainment in Africa to the next level, a reality.