Film could overturn Zim’s economic misfortunes

Standard Style
Film, if taken with the seriousness it merits, has the ability to boost local economic growth, Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust (ZIFFT) executive director Nigel Munyati (pictured right) has said.

Film, if taken with the seriousness it merits, has the ability to boost local economic growth, Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust (ZIFFT) executive director Nigel Munyati (pictured right) has said.

By Kennedy Nyavaya

ZIFFT, in partnership with Alliance Française and Elevate, recently hosted the first ever Smartphone Short Film competition for amateur filmmakers in the 16 to 34 years age range under the theme Being Zimbabwe.

Speaking to The Standard Style at the awards ceremony on Thursday night, where first, second and third prize winners walked away $500, $300 and $200 richer respectively, Munyati said his organisation’s vision was to turn local film production into an anchoring economic contributor.

“Creative arts worldwide are one of the largest economic drivers, but locally it’s one of the smallest and probably does not even register with other economic contributors,” said Munyati.

“We hope that in Zimbabwe we can start to recognise film as an important contributor to the economy because it has the ability to do that, but we have to feed it first and right now we are not feeding this child and its dying.”

The once highly-ranked, thriving sector took a slump into nosedive mode along with the economy at the turn of the millennium and since then has constantly depreciated in quality.

According to Munyati, this can be addressed by focusing on upcoming filmmakers and that is the premise on which the recently ended competition, which attracted a total of 46 productions, was birthed.

“This is the first time we have done it so I was actually very encouraged by the response we got and I hope that next time we will get hundreds of submissions coming through,” he said, adding that film has power to “touch souls, transform nations and economies.”

Meanwhile, the second prize winner Shawn Ndlovu, whose film titled The Last Note details the struggles of youth in the country and how they should focus on working than blaming everything on bad governance.

“Most times people in Zimbabwe blame everything on lack of opportunities and jobs, but it is not the country, people should get up and work. that is what my film was addressing,” said Ndlovu, an aircraft engineer apprentice.

First place was taken by Rodney Mabaleka’s The Appointment while Dungeon Chronicles by Lindani Mataure came third.

Yvonne Mutekedza’s The Sun Freak won the people’s choice award.