Women Filmmakers Zimbabwe hosts screenings in Bulawayo

Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe are running the International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF) film screenings in Bulawayo as part of an outreach programme meant to increase the reach of the festival. The film screenings will be held at the American Corner tomorrow and Indlovu Youth Centre in Tshabalala on Monday.
Films to be screened are One Day After Peace, Israel/SA and The Cut from Uganda. Born in South Africa during the apartheid era, Robi Damelin, the director of the first film, explores the idea of relating the experiences of South Africa to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Both conflicts touched her personally as she was born in apartheid South Africa and lost a son who was serving with the Israeli Army reserve in the Occupied Territories. The film traces her attempts to dialogue with the Palestinian who slew her son perhaps drawing inspiration from South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It is without doubt a painstaking journey for the viewers. Hopefully viewers will find the film screening a cathartic experience.

The second film, The Cut, is a document about the jarring and ridiculous practice of female genital mutilation as practiced by the Kuria in Kenya and Tanzania. I will personally not watch it. But it must be watched. Film has that potency. Motion picture has the ability to wrench, to scandalise and stun its audiences with provocative imagery whilst delivering a powerful message.

Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe is Tsitsi Dangarembga’s brainchild. A writer, film maker, thinker and cultural activist, Dangarembga is in the league of the late Yvonne Vera in terms of cultural importance.
“Whilst I may be concerned about the slow rate of progress in the film industry, there have been several forces working together to bring it to a level where it needs to be. Organisations such as ZIFTESSA and Women Filmmakers Of Zimbabwe have been part of the realisation that no matter where you are, if you have a story to tell you, must tell it well and certain fundamentals need to be in place),” Dangarembga said.
What of her take on the new arts and culture ministry? “Well I am happy to tell you that we had a meeting with the minister and he did give a speech which set out the new agenda for the ministry. It sounds good. My one concern is about the intimate knowledge of the mechanisms. Money is not everything. We need people who are extremely  knowledgeable of the mechanisms (the arts). We need a assurance that the new ministry is open to people who are knowledgeable and that the right kind of collaborations are put together.”

Finally, filmmaking as a career choice will be under discussion  at the Bulawayo screenings according to Mgcini Nyoni the Bulawayo coordinator of the festival. “This will not be a workshop, but an open discussion on the thoughts of the filmmakers and aspiring filmmakers who will come to the event,” commented Nyoni.