‘President’ review: A look at Zim’s cry for democracy and freedom
“A free, fair and credible election.” These words of promise echo throughout Camilla Nielsson’s riveting documentary, capturing the fervour of the 2018 presidential vote in Zimbabwe, the country’s first without Robert Mugabe since its independence.
While opening with the rip-roaring rallies for Nelson Chamisa, who is running for the presidency against the incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former aide, President is more than an intimate portrait of a charismatic opposition leader.
Considering the fraudulent electoral practices that existed under Mugabe’s 30-year reign, this election concretises a collective cry for democracy to triumph over decades of corruption and lies. Such a desire, alas, comes with blood, sweat and tears.
Punctuating the rousing scenes of Chamisa’s campaign trail — he draws support from both urban and rural voters — is the gritty behind-thescenes grind at the opposition party’s headquarters.
At times, the documentary plays like a political thriller as Chamisa staffers frantically gather intel on the outcome of what increasingly looks like a rigged election in favour of Mnangagwa.
The tense atmosphere of these office corridors is juxtaposed with the protests on the streets, where pressure has boiled over into physical altercations between Chamisa voters and the police, who fire live bullets at the dissenting crowd, killing six.
As Mnangagwa is sworn into office, both Chamisa’s efforts to challenge the result in court as well as his supporters’ guerrilla demonstrations prove futile. Still, this is far from a defeatist film: what President does well is show that linear narrative is not necessarily the point in the fight for democracy. Victory might not be immediate, but the people’s hope for change will never die.
President will be released today in cinemas. — The Guardian.