There is a general perception that there is no film industry to talk about in Zimbabwe. This argument is mostly based on comparisons with other well-resourced film economies, such as Hollywood, or even South Africa’s. Based on my study of the Zimbabwean film industry I disagree with this view.
Zimbabwe does have a film industry, but perhaps, not one that meets everyone’s expectations and certainly not one that can be comparable to Hollywood’s formal value chain. There are, nevertheless, efforts at the grassroots, of various informally constituted cottage industries producing video-film products. These include video-films shot in as little as a week, on very low to zero budgets and by remarkably lean crews (who may also feature as the acting talent).
In a recent paper I argue that making a film in most developing countries is mégotage, as observed by the ‘father of African cinema’, Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène. The mégotage metaphor means that producing a film in such contexts is a desperate endeavour, akin to scrounging around for cigarette butts. Evidence on the ground shows that the mégotage sometimes pays off.
Zimbabweans are known for their resilience and ability to kiya-kiya (‘make things work’ in the Shona language) when faced with what seems to be a dead end. A large portion of the country’s economy is characterised by such kiya-kiya efforts, as anthropologist Jeremy Jones observes. Zimbabwe’s film industry appears to thrive under very difficult circumstances. Recent video-films like Kushata Kwemoyo, Escape, Chinhoyi 7 and lately, the Netflix hit Cook Off, all made during the so-called Zimbabwean crisis (stretching from around 2000 to date) showcase the filmmaking talent and cinematographic capabilities abundant in the country.
Ukadike made his remark more than 20 years ago. It was based on the film-friendliness that Zimbabwe exhibited back then. At the time, many Hollywood companies, including the Cannon Group who were popular for blockbusters like Missing In Action and Cyborg featuring stars like Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme, used Zimbabwe as a filmmaking location because of its splendid scenery, efficient financial systems and durable infrastructure. Famous faces such as Sharon Stone (in King Solomon’s Mines) and Denzel Washington (in Cry Freedom) graced the country as cast in the movies. At the same time, Zimbabwe’s Central Film Laboratories serviced the southern African region’s film processing needs.
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What I celebrate is that, in the midst of such adversity, filmmaking continues to thrive. A critical mass of youthful filmmakers armed with camcoders, laptops, cell phones and an assortment of improvisations, has emerged and continues to keep the filmmaking impulse alive. Among the leading lights are Von Tavaziva (Go Chanaiwa Go Reloaded), Shem Zemura (Kushata Kwemoyo), Joe Njagu (Cook Off) and Nakai Tsuro (Mwanasikana), to mention just a few. Most of the time, their route to audience is the DVD or Youtube, often for little or no returns. But the enterprising ones, like Von Tavaziva, have discovered ways of beating the scourge of piracy by producing high volumes of DVDs and selling them at very affordable prices in accessible city spaces.
There are further encouraging signs, if the aesthetics of contemporary music videos is anything to go by. The work of Vusa ‘Blaqs’ Hlatshwayo and Willard ‘Slimmaz’ Magombedze indicates cinematographic competences that can further improve the video-film genre. A veteran of the crisis years, filmmaker Tawanda Gunda Mupengo (Tanyaradzwa and Peretera Maneta) told me that if people keep at it, the local art of filmmaking will only get better. He believes that emerging talent, even away from the major cities, should be encouraged and this will have a multiplier effect, not only on volumes of video-films, but also the human resource-base needed for profitable film business in the future.
Let there be a competent crew in Masvingo. If that crew makes a film that is successful, they will breed a community of filmmakers. The informal filmmaking practices (which are in fact Zimbabwe’s film industry), should be encouraged to thrive, with or without government support. The example of Nigeria’s film industry, Nollywood, which has grown from rags to riches, offers inspiration in terms of how grassroots efforts may blossom in the long run.
When Zimbabweans talk about the greatest films ever made in their country, they almost always refer to the 1990’s decade. This decade produced Neria (1992), which is probably Zimbabwe’s highest grossing movie of all time. Other notable movies from this period include More Time (1993), Everyone’s Child (1996), Flame (1996), and Yellow Card (2000). Older people may also recall Jit (1990) with a lot of fondness. But they will seldom mention movies from the 2000’s, and if they do, it’s usually with a lot of criticism.
‘Zollywood,’ often referred to as Zimbabwe’s ‘film industry,’ is the source of most of the newer movies. Just from the name, it’s easy to tell that it’s modeled after Nollywood, its more prolific Nigerian counterpart. Many of the filmmakers are based in the UK, a country with a large population of diasporan Zimbabweans. As such, a significant number of the films contain UK diasporan themes. However, there are some that are entirely based on experiences from Zimbabwe.
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One of the main sources of criticism against Zollywood films is that they don’t measure up to the 1990’s decade. There is some truth in this claim. Most of the 1990’s movies generally had better funding, a lot of which came from Non-governmental organizations (NGO’s). The NGO funding meant that the films were required to deliver to deliver strong social messages, particularly about AIDS, children’s rights and women’s rights. As a result, most of the productions tended to be highly moving films. Zollywood movies have moved on from this era, and have ventured into less weighty themes such as romantic love. Some have even tried Hollywood-style action films. Therefore, they are different from the 1990’s films in a way. However, the movies tend to be lower budget.
I will use the example of a popular Zollywood movie to highlight some of the negatives and positives within Zollywood films. This movie “Nomatter What” has a classic romantic love premise: a poor guy is in love with a beautiful girl; a player comes along and snatches her; a tussle then follows (I don’t want to give the movie away, in case you want to watch it). I should say, even though the story is pretty cliché, it is still developed well - at least for the first half of the movie. After that, it suffers the fate of many Zollywood movies. It turns into a basic drama sketch. In particular, there is the doctor scene (this is not really a spoiler) where some surprise ‘plan’ is executed. The scene is unrealistic and carelessly breaks the standard real life rule of doctor-patient confidentiality. I am not being picky - this scene is simply an easy way out of an otherwise well-developed plot.
The acting is actually not bad - in fact better than most Zollywood movies I have seen. One of the main issues, though, is language. Again, it is less of an issue in this movie than in the other ones. The actors expend a lot of energy trying to properly sound out English words, thus taking away from the actual acting (‘body movement,’ as some internet armchair critics call it). In fact, this problem runs back to the heyday period. Many of the great movies from the 1990’s faced the same problem. Perhaps it was the production quality, and generally better acting, that concealed this shortfall.
Zollywood may do better by getting actors/actresses who are more comfortable with English, or at least mix it in with other local languages, just like we actually do in real life. Interestingly, Zimbabweans generally have better English accents than most Africans; however, Nollywood still does better than us in that aspect. That is because their actors are comfortable even with their particularly thick accents. While the sound in this movie is again a little better than in its counterparts, it is still lacking. In particular, the restaurant scene has a lot of echoing, and does not sound like a restaurant at all. The extras do speak a little, but it’s still generally quiet, and it gives the film a school-drama feel. There is definitely more work to be done with the sound. However, the music choices in the movie are pretty good.
It does use quite a few non-Zimbabwean tracks, a deviation from the legacy of 1990’s movies, which tended to use a few local tracks. In fact, some of the local tracks used in the films became hits. I still found some positives in Nomatter What. The characters were more interesting than expected. Tendai, who would usually be a super charming, quiet and overly emotional guy, is actually quite different. He is controlling and short-tempered - not exactly a prince charming. This for me was a step away from the norm, which was great. The same applies to Thandi’s best friend, who is quite thoughtful and less predictable than she would be in another movie. The story itself is one that Zimbabwean college and university students can easily identify with, which is always a good thing. In the end, people will always want to compare Zollywood movies with Neria and other yesteryear classics.
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While the comparison may be unfair, it is important that newer filmmakers learn from the greats of the nineties. However, they should still be given credit for working with more constrained budgets, and for getting our movie industry going. This should not excuse complacency, however. Better acting is needed, and we need to make better decisions about choice of language in films. Also, it might be worthwhile to give a little more thought to some of the story lines. Some of them are intriguing, but many of them are still amateurish. Originality is needed. Also, we must remember that quality is better than quantity. With all that in mind, I believe we can do much better.
Zimbabwe has an active film culture that includes films made in Zimbabwe during its pre- and post-colonial periods. Economic crisis and political crisis have been features of the industry. A publication from the 1980s counted 14 cinemas in Zimbabwe's capital city, Harare. According to a 1998 report only 15 percent of the population had been to a cinema. European and American films have been made on location in Zimbabwe as well as Indian films.
Great Zimbabwe & The First Cities of Southern Africa // History Documentary
Zimbabwean actors include: Munya Chidzonga, Tongayi Chirisa, Adam Croasdell, John Indi, Dominic Kanaventi, Edgar Langeveldt, Tawanda Manyimo, l Cont Mhlanga and Lucian Msamati.
FilmAid and Sunshine Cinema conducted a Skills Development Workshop in smartphone-based visual storytelling production. Participants received technical training alongside training in the documentary approach to storytelling with a focus on sourcing stories, casting subjects, and capturing action in front of the camera that can be edited into short engaging visual stories ready for distribution on social media, digital publications, and messaging apps.
10 local community members participated in the trainings, produced 4 short films, held 23 film screenings in three different regions in Zimbabwe: Matabeleland South, Midlands and Bulawayo, and reached an audience of over 1,400. With our produced films, we showcased a wide range of African produced fictional and documentary films celebrating local storytelling as a tool for dialogue and active citizenship. In addition, the program partnered with nine education institutions and eleven community-based organizations. The audiences were composed of teenagers, youths, adults and children from the three regions.
In Zimbabwe, we partnered with Sunshine Cinema, Africa’s first solar powered cinema network. They support mobile cinema distribution networks for Afro-centric films and filmmakers, film education for young people and advocacy training to drive dialogue and debate on issues critical to the youth in southern Africa. In February 2021, we held a Smartphone Cinema Workshop in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, funded by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, with the goal of equipping participants with practical skills to creatively express their aspirations for a diverse and democratic Zimbabwe.
Here is a list of popular movies from Zimbabwe:
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| King Solomon's Mines | Famous faces such as Sharon Stone starred in the movie. |
| Cry Freedom | Famous faces such as Denzel Washington starred in the movie. |
| A World Apart | 1963. Thirteen year old Molly Roth, the eldest of three offspring of Gus and Diana Roth, lives a carefree life as part of the affluent white minority in South Africa. |
| Flame | The 1970s in the former Rhodesia, today Zimbabwe: The native people are rising up against their white suppressors. |
| Cook Off | Single mother Anesu's life is turned upside down when her son enters her into a reality TV competition. A refreshing view of contemporary life in Harare, Zimbabwe, told through the lens of a classic romantic comedy. |
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