The Sunday Mail
With the country losing talent to other countries and foreign television programmes becoming the most preferred on our screens at the expense of domestic productions, many people are starting to wonder if local short film projects will ever graduate from kindergarten.
Producers argue that the short films are simply a launching pad for bigger things to come.
The Zimbabwe Film and Television School of Southern Africa (Ziftessa) is the only reputable film training institute in Zimbabwe and therefore most local artistes use the short films as training platforms.
Zimbabwe’s pride and export to Hollywood, Tongayi Arnold Chirisa is a product of such projects.
Before the turn of the millennium, the local film industry was vibrant and envied by other countries in Southern Africa. With big international productions such as the 80’s “King Solomon’s Mines” and “Cry Freedom”, there were indications for a brighter future in the industry.
Notable films like “Neria” (1992), “More Time” (1993), “Everyone’s Child” (1996), “Flame” (1996) and “Yellow Card” (2000) further spurred the hopes of brighter days to come.
But sadly, the growth trajectory in the film industry has slowed down. Rather, it has died.
Instead of progressing, the film industry appears to have engaged full-throttle on the reverse gear.
Hundreds if not thousands of short films have been produced in the last decade but little effort has been put in creating feature films that have a perceived greater impact on the global movie arena.
Short films such as “The Other Side”, “Dance”, “Vhuserere”, “Tirabu”, “Checkmate” and “Dystopia Paruzevha” to mention but a few have been produced.
Among the countable few feature films that have come through after the turn of the new millennium are “Lobola” and “Gringo (Troublemaker)”.
A number of players in the film industry argue that there is no proper funding to support the shooting of feature films and thus, they have to continue with the short film projects with a hope of a breakthrough in the near future.
In the meantime, the short films serve as training platforms.
Veteran actor-cum-producer Jesesi Mungoshi defended the idea of short film projects. She, however, urged potential funders to come on board and help develop the industry that is oozing with great potential.
“The problem is we started at an advanced stage. Our film industry kicked off on a high note. We were ahead of many countries. These short film projects are a necessary step towards film industry development but the problem is that in our case it now appears more like regressing considering our previous achievements,” said Mungoshi.
“They (short films) are good though in the sense that they are not expensive to make and if made professionally you can win awards at festivals or other competitions both in and outside the country. Also they can help you link up with big producers and or funders if you take them to correct places like Dubai and Hollywood.”
Mungoshi noted that it is now difficult for the current crop of producers to come up with feature films due to a number of reasons, chief among them being the absence of working capital and piracy.
This is sad considering that top companies such as McDonald’s, Pepsi, General Motor Company, Ford Motor Company and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles battle to sponsor Hollywood movie productions for perceived advertorial benefits.
“Payment was better during the days when films like ‘Yellow Card’ were produced. At present there is no money and people only get food and money for transport in rare cases. Furthermore, those that have soldiered on have been affected by piracy. Gringo (Troublemaker) was a good production but they got nothing from it due to piracy. Certainly the producer is going to have second thoughts in creating another film,” she added.
However, a closer look at the development of the film industry in various African countries certainly leaves one with more questions than answers.
Experts highlight that it costs between US$25 000 and US$70 000 to produce a feature film in Nigeria. The films are produced within a month and are profitable within two or three weeks of release.
Most of the movies easily sell more than 20 000 units officially.
But more interestingly, a self-taught director in Uganda, Isaac Nabwana, who launched his amateur production company, Ramon Film Productions has made over 40 films in the past decade on a budget of less than US$200 for each production.
The 42-year-old creative producer uses machine guns made from scrap metal, bullets carved from wood and fake blood bursts out of bags made of free condoms sourced at the local health clinic.
Today, Nabwana makes a full-sized helicopter from scrap metal. His films’ trailers that are viewed under his brainchild,
Wakaliwood (named after Wakaliga, a poorer suburb outside Kampala where he is based), have gone viral with the clip for the action movie “Who killed Captain Alex?” having garnered close to 2,5 million views on YouTube.
Without resources equivalent to that of Hollywood, Bollywood or even Nollywood but driven by passion, the producer has still managed to make an impact. And his eagerness to reach standards set by the aforesaid is already seeing him create other film stars.
Nabwana’s case can very well be good reason to argue that while short films help nurture talent in script writing, acting and directing as well as help in disseminating information on various issues, it should be no excuse for Zimbabwean filmmakers to remain stuck in this dilemma.
But Multi-Choice Zimbabwe publicity and public relations manager Elizabeth Dziva supported the production of short film projects, arguing that they “give testimony of intent”.
“Every single film no matter how big or small helps to develop the film industry. It is always better to do something short if that is what you can afford than wait to get funding for a big feature that might never happen. Short films are great proof of concept for a feature. So we encourage up and coming filmmakers to shoot lots of short films. Use your cell phone to tell a story in 5 minutes. Post it online and see how people react,” said Liz.
In recognition of various short film projects that have and are still being produced, DStv will next year hold a short film festival that is set to open new avenues for producers.
“If you have resources to do a feature, go ahead. Don’t wait. We welcome both formats. In fact, at some point in the New Year, Zambezi Magic is going to have a short film festival on the channel,” said the MultiChoice Zimbabwe official.
The coming on board of Zambezi Magic early this year and the subsequent call for feature film scripts by the same channel is expected to provoke the much anticipated mind-set shift from short to feature films.
“The response has been great. A few scripts have started to trickle in. I hope people are busy writing and polishing up their scripts. Writers have the whole month of November to write and submit. I’m sure we will be flooded with scripts on deadline day.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm. We are getting a lot of proposals for Zambezi Magic. We have already licensed shows and movies from Zimbabwean producers that will start making it on to the channel from November onwards,” revealed Liz.
Rising producer Joel Njagu also noted that there is no need to despair. He said the difference in technologies of production and sponsorship regimes is the reason for the huge gap that exists between us and the developed states.
“We should not compare Zimbabwe with Hollywood. Zim is like a three-year-old baby while Hollywood is an ancestor. They have been in this business for decades. Nollywood understands what they are and by so doing they have grown to become a billion dollar industry,” he said.
Added Joel: “We have a single film school and those that cannot enrol for formal education can learn through experience obtained from being part of the short film projects. This is a stepping stone and we are shoving in the right direction. Let’s accept our position on the market and things will work out well.”
While the film industry creates millions of dollars for actors and actresses the world over, locally it is a different story of agony and misery.
Therefore, the million dollar question is: are these low budget productions not creating an illusion of a recovering industry when all is not so rosy in the sector?
