Film festival line-up announced
A TOTAL of 60 films will be screened at this year's edition of the Zimbabwe International Film Festival (ZIFF), which runs from September 14 to 17 in different towns across the country, festival organisers have announced.
is year’s theme is “#reconnecting” and seeks to provide a platform for filmmakers, audiences and stakeholders in the sector to reconnect with their networks and aspirations through film and curated engagements. e four-day festival will feature a variety of activities, including workshops, master classes and discussions.
As a prelude to the festivities, ZIFF hosted a special screening of the 1996 movie
Flame last Friday at eatre In e Park. e war movie, set in Zimbabwe, was produced by Simon Bright and Joel Phiri, with Nakai Matema as production executive. Directed by Ingrid Sinclair, it became the first Zimbabwean film to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival.
“It’s great for me to be here and to see what you have done with ZIFF, reconnecting and especially seeing young people coming in as well,” Ingrid said during a press briefing.
During the opening ceremony there will be another special screening of the awardwinning film Transactions. e film was directed by Rumbi Katedza and produced by Siza Mukwedini, the latter will be running a co-production workshop on career day of the festival. In the film, Katedza tells a story of Zimbabwean migration through a family divided by the circumstances of a failed economy.
Several embassies and government organisations will be showing films from their countries or films made in Zimbabwe that they would have sponsored, such as the locally produced film Shaina which was funded by USAid. e Russian basketball film ree Seconds is one of the films that will be showcased courtesy of the Russian embassy.
A record 3 235 film submissions from all over the world were received, with the highest number coming from Iran, which submitted 631 films, second was India with 265 and Brazil was third with 164 films. Surprisingly, only 26 Zimbabwean filmmakers submitted their work.
“We opened our call for films in July and got a flood of films from all over the world, it was such an overwhelming response,” said ZIFF programmes manager Rudo Chakanyuka. “We have 60 selected films that comprise 12 feature films, 30 short films and 18 documentaries.”
Another highlight is the documentary
CinemAbility and the long-awaited Zim High, directed by Tatenda Mbudzi and e Signal,
which was directed by Daniel Lasker and shot in Bulawayo.
Career day will see the screening of a South African original documentary film titled African Moot which is a film targeted at high school and university students.
e festival grand slam quiz night, which will be hosted by Comfort Mbofana, will be a delight for film fans. ZIFF uses the session to teach film trivia, especially on local films, to new audiences while rewarding participants.
Closing off the ceremony will be Mirage,
a feature film directed by Malaika Mushandu and produced by Joe Njagu. Starring, among other stars, is Prudence KatomeniMbofana. e film is set amid the turbulent events of Zimbabwe's historic 2017 coup which toppled Zimbabwe’s founding and long-time ruler Robert Mugabe and tells the thrilling story of three women’s plot to escape from one of the country’s notorious maximum security prisons.
e film extravaganza will come to an end with an awards presentation where a selection of films will be made from the categories of international feature film, international documentary, international short film, African documentary, African feature film, African short film, Zimbabwean feature film, documentary and short film. ere will also be a best actor, best actress and best director in the Zimbabwean category and a new award, Best Woman in New Media.