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Making its debut this year, the Zimbabwean Film Festival features 8 films made in Zimbabwe. The festival opens Thursday night, July 11th, with the Seattle premier of Shanda.
Tickets cost $8 for adults and $4 for children 12 and under, except for the opening film on Thursday, which is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Tickets can be purchased at the door.
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Thursday, July 11, 7:30 pm
Center House Theater, Seattle Center ($10)
Oliver Mtukudzi, affectionately known as Tuku, is a national treasure in his native Zimbabwe. He is one of Africa’s most prolific songwriters and performers. His band, Oliver Mtukudzi and the Black Spirits, has grown in popularity and commands top billing at international world music events. Shanda (meaning “work”) is a feature documentary which celebrates Oliver’s music. The film explores his career through 12 songs, selected by Oliver — from his first recording “Dzandimomotera” (1976) to “Shanda,” a current hit from one of his latest releases, Bvuma/Tolerance (2000). Personal interviews with Oliver, combined with archival photographs and footage, begin to expose the historic and social fabric of Zimbabwe. Shanda is an optimistic story that celebrates African social and cultural values. Performances captured on low-cost digital video and audio technology in the heart of Tuku country provide a fresh and spontaneous film with remarkable production values.
Shanda is a pioneering project of Cross Culture, a company recently registered in Zimbabwe by husband and wife filmmakers John and Louise Riber, known across the continent for their Zimbabwean features such as Neria and Yellow Card. (2002; English; 70 minutes)
Friday, July 12, 10:30 am
JBL Theater, Experience Music Project, Seattle Center ($8)
Flame is the first film set during Zimbabwe’s independence struggle and one of the few films ever made to focus on women as active fighters in a war situation. Here the struggle is used as a metaphor for the struggle for personal independence of women. The story begins in 1975 with two young girls, Florence and Nyasha, who secretly decide to join the liberation war. Florence is hoping to find the charismatic commander, Comrade Danger, and Nyasha wants to get a scholarship to study. On joining the liberation forces they take on the names Flame and Liberty. Despite the new-found freedom and equality with men brought by political education and military training, their innocence slowly begins to crack as the reality of war seeps in. They are tested to the limit as soldiers, but even more as girls on the difficult journey to womanhood and maturity. Their story does not end with the heady days when the war ends in 1980, but 15 years later when the two women meet again and together realize that the independence of Zimbabwe was only the beginning of their fight for independence as women.
“Flame is a bold, powerful, and deeply moving portrayal of the courage and complexity of Zimbabwean women freedom fighters. It depicts the real-life relationships among those engaged in national liberation struggles and of the challenge of sustaining those relationships in times of peace. This is a very impressive work.” —Angela Davis
Produced by Black & White Film Company. Directed by Ingrid Sinclair. (1996; English; 85 minutes)
Saturday, July 13, 10:30 am
JBL Theater, Experience Music Project, Seattle Center ($8)
Jit, inspired by the Zimbabwean pop music known as Jit-jive, is a romantic comedy about one young man’s determination to win over the prettiest girl in town. UK (so called because his friends believe he’ll go far) travels from his village to the city to seek his fortune. Along the way he becomes entranced with the beautiful Sofi, whose father demands a high bride-price and whose boyfriend is a gangster. Not only does the fun-loving UK have to overcome these obstacles to win over Sofi, but his spirit guide Jukawa has better ideas on how UK should be spending his energy in the city. Jit is a funny and uplifting film that shows the struggle of one young man to fulfill his dream. Many of Zimbabwe’s leading musicians contributed to the musical score for Jit, which underscores the irresistible beat and basic rhythm of the movie.
Produced in Zimbabwe by Rory Kilalea. Directed by Michael Raeburn. (1990; English; 92 minutes)
Saturday, July 13, 1:00 pm
Center House Theater, Seattle Center ($8)
Everyone’s Child is the story of two children’s abrupt journey into a world of adult responsibility. It is a story of love and of the triumph of human spirit in the face of tragedy. Tamari and Itai are devastated following the tragic death of both of their parents. As family and neighbors turn their heads, the children are left with nothing. Frustrated and despairing, Itai tries his luck in the big city, leaving Tamari at home to fend for herself and their younger brother and sister. For the children this is a time of fear and survival; for the people around them it must become a question of compassion. In the end it is only tragedy that can bridge the gulf of denial between their two worlds and make the community realize that these are everyone’s children.
To those unfamiliar with Africa, Everyone’s Child is a superb introduction to the grim realities that constitute the dangers and strengths of life in Africa. For Africans and students of Africa, it presents a story of disease, death, and community response in a fresh, sensitive, and wonderfully engaging manner.
“A remarkable film.... A wonderful counterbalance to the many didactic AIDS prevention films which ignore the wider societal context of the disease.” —Jonathan M. Mann, Founding Director, Global Program on AIDS, World Health Organization
Produced in Zimbabwe by Media for Development Trust with support from Overseas Development Administration, PLAN International, and the Anglo-American Corporation. (1996; English; 83 minutes)
Saturday, July 13, 3:00 pm
Center House Theater, Seattle Center ($8)
Based on the novel by Doris Lessing, The Grass Is Singing is a psychological drama set in a rural community in Zimbabwe. Mary, a white secretary who is unmarried, over thirty, and already being called an ‘old maid,’ marries the first man who comes along — a local struggling farmer, Dick Turner. Although she is suddenly lifted out of her cozy world into the harshness and isolation of the farm, she shows strength by inciting her husband to improve his farm, inspired by the success of their neighbor, Muller. Unfortunately, drought destroys the crop as well as her sanity, and she finds that the only consolation is her servant, Moses. This relationship is frowned upon by the community and Moses realizes that the only way to put her out of her misery, and release himself from this forbidden bond, is by killing her.
Produced in Zimbabwe, starring Karen Black, John Thaw, and John Kani. Directed by Michael Raeburn. (1995; English; 100 minutes)
Sunday, July 14, 10:00 am
JBL Theater, Experience Music Project, Seattle Center ($8)
Thandi is a teenage girl flirting with womanhood, ready for anything and ripe for falling in love. The township beckons. She still has to find out the dangers when David, the schoolboy Mister Charming, coolly sweeps her off her feet. As her life spins out of control and beyond her parents’ reach, Thandi has to learn that playing with love may mean playing with her life.
More Time is the story of what happens to a township girl when she realizes that falling in love is not so simple. The danger of love is not just about unwanted pregnancies; in a time of AIDS, it is about life itself. That means changing the way teenagers like Thandi think and feel about sex and sexuality. More Time will appeal to teenagers, the “HIV-free generation,” who face similar choices, and to parents who are afraid of what the future holds for their children.
Produced in Zimbabwe by Media for Development Trust with support from NACP-Zimbabwe, NACP-Botswana, DANIDA, CIDA, SIDA, CIDA-SAT, NORAD, Anglo American Corp Zimbabwe, UNICEF, Redd Barna, and MFDI. (1993; English; 90 minutes)
Sunday, July 14, 2:00 pm
JBL Theater, Experience Music Project, Seattle Center ($8)
Patrick and Neria, through shared hard work and resourcefulness, have built a comfortable home, good life, and family in the city. But when their loving and equal partnership suddenly ends with Patrick’s tragic death, Neria’s nightmare begins. Patrick’s brother Phineas helps himself to their car, bank book, furniture, and house. He takes advantage of tradition to suit his own needs, making no effort to take care of his brother’s family, yet Phineas claims that tradition and law are on his side. Neria watches helplessly at first, believing there is no legal or moral recourse for her, but when Phineas takes her children she decides she must fight back. In desperation Neria seeks legal justice. She learns that law and tradition can both be on her side if she remains strong and intelligently fights for her rights.
Produced in Zimbabwe by Media for Development Trust with support from SIDA, CIDA, NORAD, The Canada Fund, and DSR. (1992; English; 103 minutes)
Sunday, July 14, 5:00 pm
JBL Theater, Experience Music Project, Seattle Center ($8)
Yellow Card is about sex, soccer, and life’s little secrets. At age 17, Tiyane is in danger of becoming the local hero. A rising star in Hyenas (the township soccer team), a responsible son, and a high school Prefect hopeful, Tiyane can’t seem to put a foot wrong. But the game of life is about to stage a grand upset. His hormones are running riot and everybody wants a piece of him — especially Linda, a long-time neighborhood friend. Tiyane is game, but there are some things he hadn’t bargained for — like falling in love with the lovely Juliet, or becoming a dad. As he tries to weave his way though the chaos of lust, love, and self-deceit, Tiyane finally has to face up to the fact that he has a son. Yellow Card is a fast-paced, funny, and touching story of teenage love, lust for life, and passion for soccer.
Produced in Zimbabwe by Media for Development Trust with support from Pathfinder International, DFID, USAID, and The Ford Foundation. (2000; English; 90 minutes)
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