ZIMBABWE: Zimbabwe's film industry holds up in the face of tremendous obstacles

Zimbabwe once had a flourishing film industry. Today, like other sectors of the economy, the industry is struggling to stay afloat, so local film buffs are using the country's annual film festival as a way of boosting interest and funding in local production. Telling stories has always been a way of life in Africa and today many of these tales are being told through film. Shungu is a movie about a young Zimbabwean girl from the village who plans to run away to the big city to escape from an arranged marriage. Shungu was produced and filmed in Zimbabwe by local film makers. Brighton Tazarurwa was one of the directors. He and made eight low-budget movies in the past three years and Shungu is his biggest production so far. He says that as a result of current economic conditions, Zimbabwean film makers are having a harder time than their counterparts in other African countries, but their zeal to produce quality movies is keeping them motivated. "We are hardly making it as film makers we'll have to make do with the little we have and be very creative and resourceful with the other areas that we find many difficulties in. Equipment - we are not that well equipped, manpower we don't have that much skill anymore because of brain drain but with what we have so far I believe we have a new crop of film makers who are coming up. They've got the zeal and they are growing in this environment," said Tazarurwa. Shungu was one of the films shown at this year's annual Zimbabwe Film Festival or ZIFF, an event that tries to add value to the local movie industry. This year the festival celebrated its 10th anniversary and to mark the occasion, private sponsors provided filmmakers with the equipment to make short movies to be shown at the event. Nakai Matema, director of the Zimbabwe International Film Festival, said the organisation was fighting against the odds to help the industry grow. "We started off as a film festival showing international films and then we realized that we actually had a responsibility so to speak to promote the local industry and also help local young film makers… experienced film makers," she said. In the 1990's, Zimbabwe was considered by some as the film capital of Southern Africa. Although most films were made and funded by foreigners, Zimbabweans also got the chance to train on set and gain valuable experience. "You may remember a time when South Africa was under apartheid and every single film that dealt with that apartheid state was being shot in Zimbabwe. So as a result Zimbabwe had a sort of organic implosion and evolution of camera rig people of cinematography of producers of anybody who was on a crew on a film set, who could make a film happen, came from Zimbabwe in those days," said Farai Sevenzo, a film critic. Today South Africa is a globally recognized film-making destination and its locally-made movies are winning international awards. But catching up with its neighbour again is hardly something Zimbabwe's filmmakers are thinking about. With a staggering inflation rate of over 6000%, the country is going through an economic crisis and millions are struggling just to remain above the poverty line. Growing discontent and criticism has put President Mugabe's rule under global scrutiny. He has responded with tight freedom of expression controls - especially on the media. It was hardly surprising then that most film makers preferred to stay away from political themes at this year's festival. Of all the hardships facing Zimbabwe's film industry, lack of talent is clearly not one of them, despite the brain drain that has denuded the industry of its most experienced individuals. This festival was a chance for Zimbabwe's film enthusiasts to come together and celebrate their love for cinema and the arts and give each other hope that the stories of their country will continue to be told through film.

ITN Source | November 7, 2007

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