Zimpapers Logo

Tafadzwa Zimoyo Senior Arts Reporter
THE film and television industries have been considered as sources of entertainment, bringing a soothing sense of fulfilment in our day-to-day lives.

Many people still regard both as they play a role of not only entertaining, but giving solutions to a societal problems hence this can come out in plays, commercials, movies and infomercials.

However 2019, is almost over and a lot happened in the arts sector, including film and television which contributed 60 percent of the stake.

Like they say, every year comes with its own challenges and opportunities and for a project or organisation to work well, there are some highs and lows which needs to be worked on and you can agree that the road in this sector is not always rosy but full of mixed fortunes.

Some producers and film-makers still need to learn a lot about television and broadcasting, rather than complaining about challenges that came their way.

Some made it in the fire,  by using it to light their way out, while some were burned in the dungeon.

Television productions

One thing that we can give  a thumbs up in this sector is television.

Our local television broadcaster, ZBC continues to support and promote local talent.

This year, there were a lot of television productions that made people spoilt for choice like “The Village Secrets”, “Living Legends”, “Rock Bottom”, “Mawoko Matema” and “Tunga” among other films that graced our screens.

The Good thing about all these productions is that they brought humour and managed to connect with the people as they depicted the reality, which was happening and is still happening.

It is just that we have few actors in the country or are the local directors shunning new talent because in most productions, it was all about the same faces, but different script and character.

We grew up watching Gringo (Lazarus Boora), as a darling comedian in dramas, but this time the actor was in other soap productions like “The Village Secrets”.

Gringo is popular with fans for his natural talent. He is our 2019 hero after he miraculously survived a life threatening illness which saw well-wishers timely intervening with financial support.

The challenge being faced in film and television is that corporates seem to shun promoting and supporting productions.

What happened to the spirit of having “relevant” advertisers on a particular show?

This year, commercialising of shows was poor.

In separate interviews with producers, it was discovered that a lot needs to be done and we must walk the talk.

“First, let me thank the local station, ZBC for supporting our local talents. This year they opened doors for many upcoming and renowned film directors and producers.”

“We managed to have workshops on how best we can improve our channel, with different stakeholders, but it ended like a bar talk, no action, but plans were made in 2019 resulting in us remaining stagnant.”

“There is a lot which happens behind the scenes hence, having new characters who do not understand where we are coming from affects the production, resulting in us having the same faces because they do know and accept us. Again our economy somehow affected us. I am happy that I managed to do a pilot project which was accepted of a new talk show called ‘Rock Bottom’, said Zolile Makeleni affectionately known as “Tsotsi” from the soap “Wenera”.

However, there were some misses on our local soaps such as “Wenera”, “Tunga” and “Muzita Rababa”.

Some were on-off the screen while others had to change some time slots, which somehow confused viewers .

This might also be the reason why corporate involvement was low.

But more producers and writers promised to do better next year. It is also important to recognise the impact of Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN).

Kudos to them for covering parliamentary sessions and the death and burial of the late former President Robert Mugabe as well cyclone Idai documentaries.

Moreover, the issue of social media too is affecting the television because there are a lot of skits played on social media which are overtaking television.

Can something be done?

Involving them and giving them space on national television can improve the television and diversify television productions, because if you look at the traffic they get on social media including advertisers, I bet we will also have more “real” television licences.

Food for thought, we can’t wait to see what is in store for 2020.

A lot can be said about our television productions.

New films in cinemas

2019, was a bad year for the local cinema apart from international movies premièring in Zimbabwe.

Maybe this can be attributed to economic challenges in the country.

Some of the 2019 films that can be counted and accounted in history include, “Chapungu” by Melgin Tafirenyika, in-fact it is premièring this Christmas, and “The Man” written by Tsitsi Dangarembwa, among others.

Some performed like amateurs while others managed to shoot movies that are still to be released soon.

The question on everyone’s lips is: what happened to those good movies after they premièred in our           cinemas?

It seems the foreign films continue to dominate the cinemas, to promote local, I think they should also dedicate one cinema for local productions.

Where are our actors, whom grew up loving and admiring, what are they doing   now?

Can’t they come back and teach the upcoming stars, so that we have blockbusters like ‘Yellow Card’, ‘Neria’ and ‘More Time’ among others.