Documentary film The Axe and the Tree: Zimbabwe’s Legacy of Political Violence screened in Johannesburg at The Bioscope on Thursday 8 September at 6:30pm, followed by a Q&A with the director, Rumbi Katedza. More screenings are scheduled next week during the Tri Continental Film Festival.
In the 42 minute documentary viewers are taken to the time between April and June 2008 when a “tsunami of violence’ was visited on the people of Zimbabwe and the film tackles the universal challenges faced by victims of organised violence and torture.
“The film focuses on the experiences of four individuals living in the high density and peri-urban settlements around Harare during the violence in 2008. It explores the impact of the violence on their lives, and their hopes and fears for the future,’ says Katedza.
The Axe and the Tree was shot under difficult circumstances in the second half of 2010, shortly before the resurgence of repression and violence accompanied by calls for new elections in the first quarter of 2011.
The film is produced by Piers Pigou, David Jammy, Harriet Gavshon and Bruni Burres. Line Producer is Jackie Cahi and producing companies are the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), Pivot Pictures and Curious Pictures.
