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Robert  Mukondiwa
Had anyone decided to punt on the probability that the premiere of the ‘‘coming soon’’ movie “Chinhoyi 7” would again be moved to an unnamed date due to unforeseen circumstances, then they would have been smiling all the way to the bank.

It is always an odds on favourite to be shelved.

Having been ‘‘coming’’ since 2014, the doomed and premiere had been haunted and hounded by a dark shroud that always makes it a point that the hyped premiere never comes to pass and always covers the premiere in uncertainty at the most inopportune time.

Having been touted as finally coming to the big screen yesterday at Ster Kinekor Sam Levy, the movie house had to scramble to make sure the movie house got an alternative movie to screen after yet again Moses Matanda saw his movie pushed forth to ‘‘another day another time’’.

The sad thing is that this time around the movie premiere seemed to be a certainty and with the social networks bringing people together, many had said after the massive showing and show of support by Black Panther which only starred a Zimbabwean in Danai Gurira, there was no reason not to watch Chinhoyi 7 which in fact is an entirely Zimbabwean production.

Never before since the opening and controversy surrounding the Ingrid Sinclair, Joel Phiri and Simon Bright movie “Flame” in 1996 starring Ulla Mahaka and the evergreen chirpy Mariam Kunonga, had movie fever for a local production been this infectious across the nation.

Yet the social networks also had the naysayers. People who were almost dead certain that the movie premiere would be postponed after several calls that the premiere would happen were shelved in the past.

And now the word of the naysayers seems to have been spot on. And therein lies the problem.

With many people having bought the tickets to the first big budget movie of this magnitude in ages (the other recent productions have been as exciting as reading a telephone directory) many people are definitely going to be disappointed in the movie that never is and the goodwill the movie had grown for itself has now been stretched to the limit and may be lost.

As in the story of the boy who cried wolf, one day the premiere will really be on and very few may pitch up thinking it would be another false call and that is not what the arts need right now.

Confidence of all stakeholders including and especially the viewing public is important to keep building an industry that had all but disappeared save from producing a few sloppy duds in recent years.

People will never forget that the premiere was always ‘‘coming soon’’ with another premiere having been promised on Heroes Day of 2015 at one time.

There are no prizes for guessing whether that one took place and even the incompetent judges at Nama can correctly predict what happened then.

Film desperately needs money but many people seem to be disillusioned by the latest development and shelving of the film.

As expected the disappointment from the public was almost palpable via social networks. And now there is probably just one more shot for the producers to put it right and make sure the next date announced will be the absolute final proposed date of the premiere.

A narrative about the liberation struggle has always been something that whets the appetite and with the declaration of the Chinhoyi 7 as national Heroes makes it imperative that the story is told.

One of the liberation war heroes whose story is most chronicled amongst the Chinhoyi 7, David Guzuzu’s brother who still lives in their rural Guruve home celebrated the retelling of the story of his brother and his brother’s comrades as the story of the Zanla forces who ignited the war on the western front is something that can speak to the type of sacrifices that people made to win back their country and bring about equity and equality.

For the good of the industry, the prayer is this is the absolute last false start.