The Sunday Mail
Film Review
Tinashe Kusema
“. . . we are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood every once in a while, I think. It’s probably a good thing. We’re the ones who talked about AIDS when it was just being whispered, and we talked about civil rights when it wasn’t really popular . . . this Academy, this group of people, gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the backs of theatres.”
Sage words indeed.
The above excerpt was from George Clooney during his acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor at the 2006 Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars.
The thespian, now aged 62, had won an award for his role as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) veteran Bob Barnes, who tries to stop illegal arms trading in the Middle East in the 2005 American political thriller “Syriana”.
The validity of Clooney’s win at the 78th edition of the academy remains open for discussion, but what is not was his take on the film.
Film is at its best when it tells real stories, adds a little imagination and enlightens on topics that would ordinarily fall through the cracks in normal discourse.
I would like to shine a little light on one of the most slept-on local television productions — “Manhounds”.
An Invision Studios production, the series “Manhounds” tries to delve into the hot topic of human trafficking, as seen through the lens of four childhood friends — Kumbi (Nyasha Nhongo), Tamuka (Tanaka Chiriga), Jason (Taurai Bayisayi) and Tawanda (Ian Swanepoel).
Their supposedly perfect lives get thrown into disarray when one of them, Tawanda, returns home from Johannesburg with a whole lot of baggage.
His return is on the pretext that he has run away from Rufus, the head of a human trafficking operation in South Africa.
Rufus’ younger brother, Cobra, follows him back to Zimbabwe after which Tawanda drags his friends into the dark world of human trafficking.
The 10-episode series had a little bit of everything — suspense, drama and action.
Season two of the show will start appearing on Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN), Channel 294 on DStv, in the coming weeks.
The writing team — which originally featured Dennis Edwards, Blessing Chinhanga, Charles Mugaviri, and James Moyo — has since added a new and younger voice in Larry Kwiriyai.
Kwiriyai is someone I happen to know well and represents one of the leading new voices of the local media and film scene.
It is rumoured he is penning at least six new episodes and I look forward to watching them and maybe sitting down with the media and film practitioner on his experiences with the project.
According to the synopsis, the second season of “Manhounds” takes place in a small town, where several disappearances are being reported by multiple families.
Detective Farai goes on a hunt to find the cartel involved in these crimes.
Elsewhere, an unemployed single mother, Nothando Zulu, finds herself on the brink of eviction and is desperate for money. As a result, she gets entangled in a human trafficking web and cannot get out.
Two of her friends from season one (Kumbi and Tamuka) are now running one of the largest human trafficking cartels in Africa.
We also have a slew of new characters — who, for the most part, look to clearly define the lines between right and wrong. There is also Detective Farai and a journalist, Zoe, who crosses paths with the human traffickers.
Zoe is painted as the Lois Lane type in that she is fearless and inquisitive. But the traits lead her to harmful situations.
Detective Farai is more of the strait-laced good guy. However, this particular case hits close to home as the disappearance of his sister haunts him.
Expect these two characters to butt heads and their chemistry will be key.
Kumbi and Tamuka guarantee continuity between the two seasons. We also witness the coming into the picture of Mayor Kumba and Marcus.
Mayor Kumba is a politician who profits from these heinous crimes and uses the money to fund his campaign. Conversely, Marcus is the true architect of the syndicate and is rumoured to have Russian links.
It all makes for stellar viewing.
