CANADA-BASED Zimbabwean model Yollanda Chimbarami has signed a one-year deal with Canada’s top brand management firm Zhaxie after the expiry of her tenure with another top modelling agency Panache Model Management.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
The Mutare-born model has a rich history in modelling, having been part of the Miss World Zimbabwe’s 2014 boot camp at 19.
Speaking to NewsDay Life &Style from her base, the beauty said the latest development was a milestone for her as it would enhance her brand’s visibility and open up more opportunities for her.
“It’s been an exciting journey working with Zhaxie Management as we are now focusing on Yollanda Chimbarami as a brand. They do all the brand management for me while I just focus on content creation and finishing up school. They make sure all the deadlines are met, all the projects run smoothly and, most importantly, they help me create a great presence at the right places,” she said.
“They keep me on my toes. They are so many things we have started working on, some of which you will see soon, but they do all my bookings and scheduling so I don’t have to worry about anything.”
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Following the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), which has infected millions of people across the world, Chimbarami said she was staying indoors and observing all measures to minimise the possibility of infection.
“I was supposed to be home (in Zimbabwe) by now. It is very risky here, but I have nothing to do because the Canadian government closed the border as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak so I won’t be able to come back. I am just staying indoors as recommended by the health experts,” she said.
Chimbarami said she was also part of a movie shot in memory of Federico Fellini, an Italian film director and screenwriter regarded as one of the greatest influential filmmakers of all time, who died in 1993.
“We are yet to have it premiere. Hopefully, it will be soon after COVID-19 clears. One of the short movies I was part of last year got selected to air at the Venice, Sundance and Berlin film festivals.”
Chimbarami, a banking and finance student at the University of Manitoba, has also broken new ground after landing acting roles in the movies How It Ends and Snowed Inn. In the Netflix movie, How It Ends, the former Miss Harare Junior worked alongside Theo James famed for his lead role in the film, Divergent.
In a recent interview, Chimbarami said being part of the two movies has been an amazing experience and something she never expected.
“The way you try to show emotions as a model is pretty much the same way you can fake a character when acting, hence, the transformation from being a model to become an actress has been smooth,” she said.
“The golden highlight for everything started from my modelling agency, which assisted in linking me to the producers of the film, then for the second film, one of the directors from the first movie made a recommendation and that is how I was selected for the movie Snowed Inn.”
Before moving to Canada, Chimbarami focused on commercial modelling and worked with the designers including Nigeria-based TIR brand owner, Danielle Ellen and David Tlale, a South African top designer, alongside fashion retailers Edgars and Jet.