By Farayi Mungoshi

MUNYARADZI CHIDZONGA was, on October 20, nominated for a SOTIGUI Best Actor Award for southern Africa.
Chidzonga, who shot to fame through his stint in Big Brother House (Africa) and the movie Lobola, has not looked back ever since.
His nomination for best actor is for the role he played in the movie Escape, which we reviewed in The Patriot back in 2016, starring the likes of Selmar Mutukudzi and Nothando Nobengula, among others.
Chidzonga also managed to land a role in the popular South African television soap, Generations.
He is one of the many film-makers smiling at this stage. The industry, which is still flourishing, has seen a number of productions being produced this year alone.
Actors and crews are fast-becoming hard to find as nearly everybody is out there shooting or editing, which is one of the reasons this year’s Zimbabwe Film Festival was poorly attended as said by one of the festival’s organisers, Nakai Matema.
Chidzonga’s rise in film, both locally and internationally, adds value to Zimbabwean productions. However, the question is: Can the film industry contribute to the growth of our economy like in other countries?
With the likes of Chidzonga stirring things up in the industry, there can only be one way to go – upwards.
Film-makers have proven to be patriotic, refusing negative views by Zimbabweans in the Diaspora and preferring to work hand-in-glove with Government.
No doubt the film industry is capable of creating jobs, but this cannot be done without support from Government.
Chairman for the Zimbabwe Film Industry Development Platform (ZFIDP) Antony Mutambira last week met with Information, Publicity and Brodcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa to present a policy proposal on reinvigorating the film and television sector.
In an article by Tafadzwa Zimoyo, Mutambira and his team, comprising Chidzonga, Shem Zemura, Rumbi Katedza and others, met the Minister to discuss the way forward for the film sector.
They also presented a petition signed by over 200 film-makers to back up their cause.
Other countries, like the US, have used film to boost tourism and sell their culture to the world.
As a result, American culture has taken over the world from Africa to Asia and elsewhere.
No doubt the power of film and television knows no bounds and if well implemented, the Zimbabwe brand can take the world by storm.
Chidzonga is not the only one putting Zimbabwe on the map and the idea of using film to brand ourselves and boost tourism isn’t new.
Last year in July, Tafadzwa Chigudu landed a role in a Chinese film When Africa meets Channel.
Chigudu was quoted in the media saying: “It was part of the cultural exchange programme between China and Zimbabwe that will help to market Zimbabwe outside Africa and also promote tourism and Zimbabwean culture.”
Some of the scenes were shot in Harare, Gweru, Antelope Park and Victoria Falls.
Zimbabwe is a beautiful country, but no one living outside will ever know unless we showcase its beauty to the world, thereby opening doors for more people to visit and international film-makers to see Zimbabwe as a scenic film location.
We have had films like Cry Freedom featuring Denzel Washington, King Solomon’s Mines with Sharon Stone, Michael Douglas and Sherlock Holmes shot in Zimbabwe, paving way for other film-makers to look towards Zimbabwe as a possible location for shoots.
The aim is to break the borders like Chidzonga has done – opening up to the international fraternity and refusing to stay local.
But in order for us to ready ourselves for the flood of international film-makers, certain policies need to be put in place.
The ZIFDP has opened doors for the implementation of such policies in conjunction with the Government.
Nick Zemura of Mirazvo Productions, the team behind Muchaneta, Muzita raBaba and Kushata Kwemoyo, commenting on the meeting with Minister Mutsvangwa, said Government accepted that film-makers were vital in growth of the nation.