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United front in film sector key

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By Farayi Mungoshi

AFTER the imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe by the West and our exit from the Commonwealth, funds have been hard to come by for us to produce quality films in Zimbabwe.
Wherever I go, many people ask me what went wrong and why we do not produce quality films we once produced like Neria, Jit and Everyone’s Child, among others.
I always tell them that during those days, funds were not hard to come by.
We should, however, also bear in mind that those funds were not always readily available to everyone.
When you take a look at our film history, you realise that the producers or people behind most successful films in Zimbabwe were not Zimbabwean.
For example, the makers of Neria and Everyone’s Child, among other films, were Media for Development (MFD) headed by Canadians John and Louise Riber.
As producers, they were and are the ultimate beneficiaries of all the movies despite the fact that the directors were Zimbabweans. Neria was directed by the late Godwin Mawuru who also went to produce the popular Studio 263, but as director, he was not the ultimate beneficiary, neither did Jesesi Mungoshi benefit much financially by acting as ‘Neria’.
Therefore it is important for us to come together now and produce films that benefit us as a people.
Lately there has been great improvement as far as film and television is concerned.
People are coming out in groups and making television dramas that everybody gets to watch.
We now have more local content being shown on our television sets than at any given time in our nation’s history.
The rate at which we are moving is so great that only time will tell who the true artistes are.
It is not a hidden truth that the industry has been marred by opportunists who are only in it for the money and fame.
They do not care about the product as long as they get the money for the project.
Hence it is important for any child, youth or adult thinking of venturing into this field to do their research about whoever they intend to work with.
The corporate world must also be warned not to put their money on people who are full of talk and no work.
It is not difficult to find out who the true artiste is, a quick background check reveals all.
However, there are those who have remained true to the art and have shown their love for the industry by agreeing to work even for nothing.
There are more zero-budget programmes coming out.
In fact, when we shot Makunun’unu Maodzamoyo a couple of years ago, we did not have enough money to pay everyone.
All the actors we worked with agreed to work, fully aware there were possibilities they might not get paid immediately after completion of the movie.
They came out to work for the love of film and the idea of making a difference in a country that has gone through so much turmoil economically.
These are the people we are now calling out for – people with love for their country and are willing to sacrifice for the industry to move forward.
Recently I was invited on the set of an upcoming movie that is being produced by Joe Njagu called Cook Off.
The director of the film is Thomas Brickhill, a cheerful fellow I have known from high school days.
Brickhill is also the writer of the story.
I got the chance to read the script a couple of weeks ago and I must say it brings a breath of fresh air to the country.
The story has a fairytale feel to it and follows the life of Anesu, a cook who works in a canteen in town that sells sadza at US$1 a plate.
Anesu has never been to cullinary school and is not a chef, but manages to qualify to get on the television show Battle of the Chefs.
She goes on to win the show.
What interested me the most concerning this production was the fact that it is being done by professional people and these people are also working on a zero-budget, meaning there is no money for them to fund the project.
However, what they do have is the equipment to produce quality work.
Njagu said there is nobody who is going to come and give you money at this time in Zimbabwe so it is up to us as individuals to either sit and do nothing or come together with whatever we have as individuals and work on one thing that will benefit us all.
The person who owns a camera cannot shoot and complete a film without sound.
He will need somebody who owns sound equipment and lights in order for him to produce a film or television drama.
It is with this understanding that most artistes have decided to put aside their differences and come together to produce their work despite not being paid for it.
If ever the film industry is to grow, there is need for people to look into the future and decide what kind of industry we want.
Is it one driven by passion for the arts or one driven by love for money and fame?
The latter eventually always crumbles because its foundation is is not solid.
Lately there has been much talk of how the arts industry has been used as a tool for regime change.
Indeed, music, film and television are as somebody once put it, ‘weapons of mass deception’ and are sometimes used to fuel evil agendas, but when we take a look at Cook Off, one cannot help but fall in love with the story as it is purely Zimbabwean.
It is not your usual girl-child story or educational movie, but just plain old feel-good movie that is meant to make us smile with the characters as they go through their motions, a movie that momentarily relieves us from our daily grind.

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