Africa News

Regional filmmakers gather in Zimbabwe

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:05

MARTIN CHEMHERE writes…The recent three-day Film Indaba in Harare, Zimbabwe attracted a number of key people from the region.

South African Ramadan Suleman and Namibians Joel Haikali and Vickson Hangula were three of the keynote presenters. Suleman’s presentation touched on how his country has become the new frontier in African filmmaking.

Haikali stated that the Namibian Film Commission has been lobbying for policies similar to other countries. He noted that the country’s filmmaking sector is still very small as it was affected by apartheid.

Hangula’s presentation was focused on the modus operandi of the Namibian Film Commission and the advantages that a film commission brings to a country.

Funding expert Chipo Muvezwa stressed the need for bank loans, the selling of equity and the assignment of rights to finance companies in order to fund films.

Nocks Chatiza of the Film Makers Guild of Zimbabwe (FMGOZ) said his organisation was trying hard to promote local filmmakers first and was pushing for a national film policy.

Steward Sakarombe of the Zimbabwe Film and Television Actors Union called for a strong union to protect the rights of film workers. “They have to understand the importance of protecting intellectual property. The film sector is in dilemma because we do not have a parent ministry.”

Presentations were made by the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe International Film Festival.

A National Film Board was proposed as was a distribution company for Zimbabwean films.

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