MARC Mandishora aka Mandisoul is back at the Ster Kinekor Joina City on Friday next week for the premiere of his latest film, Dunamis.
Mandishora, a former broadcaster with both ZiFM and Power FM, has established Entertainment Afrika Studios, a creative brand that produces world-class projects for local, regional and global distribution.
He wears many hats as a writer, producer and director. He produced State of Malambia which became the first film to premiere on national television on Christmas Day in 2018 and House of Stone, a feature film that he also premiered at the Ster Kinekor in 2020.
Mandishora told NewsDay Life & Style that Dunamis is a story about a violent and corrupt detective with a personal vendetta against the body of Christ based on his mother's unsavoury experience with a pastor who duped her. He seeks to shut down all pentecostal churches starting with the most popular ministry run by Bishop Duncan Fraser.
“Dunamis premieres at Ster Kinekor Joina City on Friday January 31 and the visual arts industry is growing and we now have exciting opportunities to partner with distribution networks and platforms like Netflix, Showmax and Hulu which have all expressed keen interest in our creative material that includes Dunamis and three other projects that we are still developing.
“The main cast of Dunamis features Ed Chamer, Jermaine Cole Mandisoul, Nyasha Nhongo, Winter Sky Mandisoul, Paul Shephard, Devante Ray Britten, Shylet Mupeti, Raymond Zvarova, Declorencia Shiri and Tafadzwa Bob Mutumbi,” Mandishora said.
He added that he was previously nominated for Best Actor Award for the film November Rain in the ZAFTAs and hoped that Dunamis was poised to have its successful Film Festival run in 2025 in Cannes, Tribeca, Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles, Canada, Japan and other major festival venues.
“This is a truly global project with international cinematic appeal.”
Mandishora cherishes growth and development in the film industry and has big plans for the year 2025.
After the launch of the Dunamis, he is scheduling launches of other films which include Midnight Sky which has already been shot and in the final stages of post-production and Land of The Dead whose production dates are set for this April and will feature a top Hollywood star.
“I am excited about the direction African films are taking. I would like to motivate Zimbabwean filmmakers to think outside the box and step out of the past,” Mandishora said.
“The world is now a global village and while we celebrate past productions like Yellow Card and Neria the global market has evolved significantly and we need to tell stories that speak to the pop culture generation as well. Most of our earlier work was based on themes that sought to teach and lecture but we need to entertain as much as we inform.
“I believe that the film industry is the next big thing and we need more participation from corporate brands and government as film is the most visual way to market our country, infrastructure and commercial brands as the norm with Hollywood and nothing is more effective when it comes to advertising and promotion than film. We can reach the entire world with our productions now. Tourism needs film to take Zimbabwe to the world as well and smart partnerships are essential.”