Opinion / Columnist
Chinhoyi 7, dawn of the new era
09 Oct 2014 at 10:20hrs | Views
The Zimbabwean story has been distorted owing to laxity in exploiting the motion pictures in telling our history, endeavours and livelihood as a nation. The shooting of Chinhoyi 7, a 2 hour film based on the 7 guerrillas who fired the first shots to mark the genesis of the revolutionary struggle in Chinhoyi is more than noble and well timed.
The land reform and liberation war has been misrepresented with a lot of hate propaganda demeaning and bedevilling the whole cause altogether. The advent of the film initiative to couple the literature already existing will see the re-defining of the distorted Zimbabwean story.
What is attaining in Zimbabwe, politically, is a testimony of a manipulated and lies laced history. The developed world sound and appear as super power because they exhausted opportunities that come with the big screen. Television is magic and has a magic bullet effect to its consumers. Many people are not prepared to read through a piece of paper but can listen and see in the comfort of their homes.
Regionally films like "Sarafina" and "Hotel Rwanda" tell the stories of the South African apartheid system and the Rwandese genocide respectively. "Pearl Harbour" is an American film that chronicles America's entry point into the World War 2. This categorically qualifies Chinhoyi 7 as a noble initiative which will raise high the Zimbabwean flag in cinemas the world over.
I remember when I was a small child, despite being a girl, I enjoyed singing "tambira masoja ahwina muhondo.....". The picture or vision that illuminated in my mind then, was that of white soldiers marching victoriously.
Nevertheless I am curiously waiting for "Chinhoyi 7" to hit the big screen. The involvement of Zimbabwean international film maker Moses Matanda who starred in The Real Prison Break and Battleship and 5 other international movie makers makes the idea equally intriguing.
My opinion will not be complete if I don't call upon the corporate world and government to invest in preserving our heritage by supporting the film industry.
Source - Caitlin Kamba
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