The Sunday Mail
Takudzwa Chihambakwe
The 2016 Zimbabwe International Film Festival will focus on the elements of sound and music, and their critical role in film production, organisers say.
Preparations for the annual event – now in its 18th year — are on course, though organisers have indicated that some touch-ups are needed for local productions to meet international standards.
And ZIFF director Elton Mjanana reckons the event is a good platform to address such issues.
“There is a need to keep realisation that sound and music are critical elements of a complete film production. We have to self-critic our engagements with all these elements that complete the process of production but note we are not limiting sound in this instance to just location sound but scoring, sound design and use of music in film. These are critical sound elements that will focused on during the festival,” Mjanana says.
Outstanding local productions in terms of picture quality and scripting have been released over the years but the sound aspect has been abject.
Music is a huge component of film production, but rarely do Zimbabweans compose specific songs for local films as is the case internationally.
Music composed directly for a film enables the viewer to have a greater appreciation of the product.
“… scoring is when music is specifically made for a film. However, this is not yet the way the local film industry is operating. The popular trend has been to create a separate music project based on a film, which is called a motion picture sound track. Examples of this would be projects like ‘Neria’, ‘Everyone’s Child’ and ‘Tanyaradzwa’. But it’s important to note music is there to amplify the film and not vice-versa,” says the ZIFF director.
Organisers have called for submissions on projects that will be included in the festival running under the theme, “Reel, Sound and Music” from October 1 to October 8.
“We opened for submissions on June 15 and we close on August 30 and the emphasis is on productions that speak to our theme. So far the response has been encouraging with most submissions coming from producers working on feature films in the fiction category followed closely by those working on short films and the lowest being in the documentaries category,” Mjanana says.
ZIFF 2016’s major highlights will be the opening night, special embassy national days, the awards night and the closing night. An initial schedule of films will be availed on August 17.
“As usual, support programmes like outreach to educate will facilitate screenings and workshops in high density areas. The film forum will present an exciting industry programme featuring, workshops, seminars, discussion, pitch sessions and collaborations among industry stakeholders.
“Like last year, our main venue will be the Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust Hub. We will mount four cinemas there of different sizes and makes including a themed outdoors cinema for main evening screenings under the stars. We will have some selected screenings at cinemas in response to film formats and style,” reveals Mjanana.
There will also be ZIFF tours, which will see the festival hosting events in towns and cities across Zimbabwe.
On the state of local productions that have been screened on platforms such as ZTV and Zambezi Magic such as “Muchaneta”, “Battle of the Chefs”, “Wenera” and “Tonight With Zororo”, the ZIFF director says, “The programmes reflect the growth of the television industry.
‘‘But as a film festival our immediate interest is on the growth and sustenance of a vibrant and viable film industry — an industry that services its professionals, audience and stakeholders alike.”
