Local filmmaker, Edmore Ndlovu (pictured) will travel to Namibia this month for the pre-production phase of his latest project, a film titled The Gambler Job, that will be released later this year.
REPORT BY TINASHE SIBANDA
Unlike his usual local productions, the greater part of The Gambler Job will be shot in Namibia in Windhoek and Walvis Bay. Some scenes will be done in Zimbabwe.
“After staying in Windhoek for a short period I was moved by how they lived, their languages and their different cultures that tell the African story, thus I decided to do a film in that country,” said Ndlovu.
In the film, a heist that is considered the biggest in Namibia goes wrong and turns nasty for the trio behind the plot, Mandume, Gustavo and Bheki.
Mandume is a rising Kwaito star that promises to be Namibia’s next big thing in the music industry. He works at a car wash with Gustavo. Mandume’s girlfriend, Julia runs a small orphanage in Oshitenda. When Mandume loses his job and his music career fails to give him enough income, he leaves Namibia for South Africa.
The plot develops when three years down the line he comes back to Namibia after his mother develops a critical ailment that needs medical attention in Malaysia at a cost of US$100 000.
Mandume takes his South African friend, Bekhi to Namibia and reunites with his old friend Gustavo. Their financial woes and Mandume’s desire to raise money for his mother’s medication lead the trio to plot a robbery. Everything turns nightmarish when their plot backfires.
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“This film involves filmmakers from Zimbabwe and Namibia with actors from Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa. I am working closely with my Namibian co-producer Knowledge Ipinge, who is fast-tracking the logistics in Windhoek,” said Ndlovu.
He said the project would strengthen relationships between regional filmmakers and contribute in creating a powerful structure of African cinema.
“If you are a filmmaker, it doesn’t matter where you do a film because this is art and art is universal. My first film Sores of Emmanuel was targeted at our local audience with the outside market as secondary audiences. With this one, we are targeting the regional market and beyond since there is need to create synergies in Africa through filmmaking,’ he said.
Ndlovu said the Zimbabwean film industry was more of a community of charity workers because those involved in filmmaking get peanuts or nothing at all. “It’s not the filmmaker’s fault but I would blame the government and relevant authorities and structures that kill the talent because there is no support of the industry.”
The talented young man is also working on a soap called Revelations with ZTV that is scheduled to premiere in June.
