Africa News

Tsotsi actor stars in Zimbabwean film

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:22

Rising Zimbabwean scriptwriter Joe Njagu (Lobola) has penned another potential blockbuster movie to come out of the country titled The Gentleman.

Written and directed by Joe Njagu, The Gentleman is produced by Rufaro Kaseke, Munya Chidzonga, Batsirai Masvinge and Lilian Chidavaenzi. It is a co-production between The Decent Arthouse, Ivory Pictures and Alternatives Inc Media Services. South African-based Predestined Pictures coordinated the South African shoot.

Award-winning South African actor, Presley Chweneyagae (Tsotsi, Zama Zama, State of Violence) stars in this first ever Zimbabwean action drama which was shot over four weeks in and around Harare and Johannesburg.

Other leads are played by Munya Chidzonga (Lobola), Precious Makhulumo (Amakhorokoza) and Kenyan Sheila Kwamboka (Big Brother Africa).

Njagu believes this cast will have major appeal across Africa due to a number of factors including Chweneyagae’s stand-out performance in Tsotsi, which helped win the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2006 Oscars, and the popularity of the Big Brother Africa brand across the continent. In Zimbabwe, Makhulumo stands out as an influential part of one of the country’s longest running soapies.

Batsirai Masvinge, who also doubles as the film’s unit publicist, says the thematic framework of the film is built around the universal theme of love and how far one will go to protect loved ones.

He also believes The Gentleman is as distinct in its way as Lobola, which is a more localised drama that particularly appeals to Zimbabweans. Apart from the star cast there is the added value of the use of three languages – English, Shona and Zulu.

“We are very excited about this project and confident it is going to re-define filmmaking in Africa as a whole,” says Masvinge.

With a budget of about $167 000 (R1.285m) and shot in high definition (HD) on a Canon 7D camera, it was cut by veteran editor Charles Mawunga whose experience ensured a good final product. According to the producers the film is very technical as Munya appears as a twin. There was also lot of special effects make-up involved.

In Zimbabwe the film will be distributed by Ivory Pictures while in South Africa the producers are still talking to a number of independent distributors. The film will be released straight to DVD with the intention to distribute across all regions of Africa.
SCREENAFRICA Print Magazine – October 2011 (view here)
By Martin Chemhere

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