Prolific film and television producers Eddie Ndlovu and Djakov Jakovic premiered in two full-capacity cinema houses for a film at the Joina City Ster-Kinekor in Harare which is set to benchmark progress on wildlife preservation, among other related crises which affect human life.
The film, Nyanga, carries easily depictable lessons and subjects which include and are not limited to adventure, courage, deviance, women in leadership, gender responsiveness and tragedies that emerge as consequences of incompetence and insensitivity.
All these revolve around the Nyanga Game Park which has much to be improved, especially on staff accommodation, transport and health facilities.
The Nyanga mountain and its several resorts are natural tourist attractions which have made Zimbabwe a preferred tourist destination. The film Nyanga then becomes a soft tool to lure investors and revive tourism in Zimbabwe.
In the film, the resort was given three rhinos by the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority which were in transit to another destination. The COVID-19 lockdown and its subsequent hardships resulted in death, sexual harassment, lack of basics and access to health facilities while poachers caused social unrest. The film was short in Nyanga, Hwedza, Lake Kyle and the Gonarezhou Game Park and features a talented cast.
Ndlovu said he used the film to share to the world a testimony of the values that he has at home. His son Andre Ndlovu who has just written Ordinary Level examinations stars as Simba in the film, the young man who dates the much-feared Maseko’s daughter Tanya. Andre said acting in the film was amazing as he was also doubling as the director of photography. Owami Ndlovu (Tanya) is an Level student at UMAA in Masasa, Harare. She said acting as Tanya had given her a lesson to teach others that committing suicide is painful and the youth should avoid it. Children should accept all forms of retributive measures that come from school heads and parents, she said.
After viewing the engaging and entertaining movie, there was a glamorous red-carpet photoshoot and interactions which shall for some time make the occasion of the launch significantly memorable. NewsDay Life & Style spoke to the cast and crew.
Eddie and Jacovic
As filmmakers our hearts are always divided into two, the projects that inspire us and the projects that we are paid to do. The conservation becomes so personal for my partners and I. We been working with the Parks Authority for some time and we came to a time where we began to understand a lot of things. Working on wildlife conservation needs a lot of resources and a lot of time. If we get adequate resources, we will be positioned to tell a lot of stories that surround wildlife conservation. We have several untold stories.
This project was a success and we believe that adequate funding should be a prerequisite. In order for us to continue making films at this level we require full support from the Parks Authority and private voluntary organisations.
Benhilda Kandawasvika (Maseko)
I felt so great to portray the character of a very harsh and insensitive boss. I am glad this movie is being shown for the first time here while we are also part of the historic experience. Maseko is the character that was being doubted and she resolved to prove that she can do it and she is in control. Her courage, often termed dictatorship, led her to the final victorious and bloody war to preserve the rhino against the treacherous poachers. The film provides us with an equal opportunity to visualise the need to groom and provide adequate capacitation for women in leadership.
Roselyn Musekiwa 3KTV
The film is going to open a lot of doors for the film industry. The characters had good communication skills and body language. We hope this film will be given adequate coverage and it will definitely appeal to many people.
Joshua Cannings (post film sound designer)
I was only pulled on board for the post-production and it was a really good experience to work on this movie. The premiere was also excellent.
Collin Ndabezinhle Ncube (Panga the main character)
I am from Bulawayo and came to Harare in 2021 after being called by Eddie Ndlovu to take part in the Bundu production. We started working together in several other respects. I played Panga, the main character. We went to Hwedza, Nyanga, Nyangombe Falls, Lake Kyle and Lake Mutirikwi. The biggest challenge that we faced in Nyanga was the unpredictable weather change. We would switch off the cameras for the fog to pass. We could shoot only three scenes in a day and would walk for very long distances. All the same, we managed to win all the visuals that we wanted during our stay in Nyanga.