THE movie Black Panther continues to make headlines as it rakes in millions weeks after its release.
According to an article released by Business Insider, an American financial and business news website, Black Panther has made five times as much money in the US as any other movie in 2018.
And what is the reason behind the movie setting a new Box Office record: Is it because of the producer’s way of portraying an African story in a unique and refreshing way?
We all know how the African story has been told, especially by Hollywood.
Without doubt, Black Panther is one of the films that celebrates African genius, which has been drowned in a narrative pushed by the West that continuously claims Africans are a daft people needing the whiteman to save them.
It is a film that celebrates African heritage, civilisation and is a source of inspiration to all Africans, young and old.
Currently, in the US alone, Black Panther has grossed US$681,1 million at the domestic Box Office since its release.
Without doubt, Black Panther, despite having a mostly black cast, has captured the attention of the world.
Black Panther has exceeded the Titanic at the Box Office.
And more interesting is that the movie becomes the first film to be screened in Saudi Arabia, ending a 35-year cinema drought.
There was a lot of excitement in the whole of Africa and more importantly in Zimbabwe as a result of the release of the film Black Panther.
In Zimbabwe, the excitement was as a result of one of the leading actresses Danai Gurira, who acts as Okoye in the movie.
Gurira displays exceptional acting qualities, raising the Zimbabwean flag high.
As a result of her flawless acting and contribution in the film, Black Panther is now ranked one of the best fictional films ever produced.
The impact of Black Panther in the global film industry is something that film-makers must take a cue from — especially the local film industry which is currently limping.
A number of local film- makers have cited financial problems as the major challenge affecting the industry but pundits point to other problems that have nothing to do with the issues of funding.
In one of his articles in The Patriot, Farayi Mungoshi cites arrogance as crippling the local film industry.
“Arrogance could be retarding the growth of the industry,” writes Munggoshi
“The youngsters, exposed to latest gadgets that veteran film-makers did not have, feel they have nothing to learn from the old dogs. But film-making is more than ability to manipulate gadgets.” Mungoshi is simply encouraging young film-makers to think, not just outside the box, but far from it.
Black Panther, which has captured the attention of various audiences, was directed by Ryan Coogler (31).
As Mungoshi points out, it takes more than just gadgets and money to come up with a blockbuster but creativity in all aspects of film-making.
Meanwhile, local film-makers are employing the latest technology in film production.
We hear that the local movie Chinhoyi 7 used the latest equipment in production.
Speaking during a private screening of the movie attended by President Mnangagwa, Chinhoyi 7 producer Tawanda Sarireni, revealed plans to take the movie abroad.
“We plan to take the film to the London Film Festival for screening and Hong Kong for distribution,” Sarireni said.
“We are also targeting markets in North America and France. Our target is that by end of this year, the movie would have reached many countries,” he said.
Chinhoyi 7 tells the story of the beginning of the Second Chimurenga.
It is through the Chinhoyi Battle that the guerillas were able to fine tune their fighting strategy.
Despite the guerillas perishing in that first battle, they would return a revamped force that went on to beat the Rhodesians on the battlefield, forcing them to call for talks which were held at Lancaster House in London.
Some of the notable films made in Zimbabwe include Neria, Everyone’s Child, Tanyaradzwa, Yellow Card and Escape.