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Gweru audience believe film unites people

A plenary session after the screenings of European Film Festival winning short films in Gweru at the Memorial Library accepted as true that films reflect a people's way of life and unite them in their diversities.

Popular film producer  and actor Alex Gwaze,  who is also the European Film Festival  coordinator  and the Input Conference curator, in  his opening remarks accepted that the audience to the film festivals continues to grow and it is a fulfilment of their desire of getting people staying connected.

"We are branching out to as many spaces as possible and that's why we have come out to places like Kadoma, Gweru. The demand for short films is fast growing and it has been interesting to see people sitting back and cheering at what could be of common interest." Gwaze said.

Comments from the audience after the screenings of the winning short films hailed the producers for a sterling good work.

"Thank you for making the European film festival a platform for showing our passion.  Laid back and limited equipment is still a problem and let's accept the passion of making such good films with limited resources," said one film maker who also made a submission to the call for short films. Unfortunately he did not meet the grade.

Another speaker thanked the organisers for the film festival who managed to nurture and cultivate the Zimbabwe Film Industry .

Tariro Maberera told the house that films are important because they always impact people's lives.

Roberta Wagner from the European Film Festival commended that the film festival she was happy with the way the audience received the films and she made several take homes for improving on the future additions of the European Film Festival.

When the deputy ambassador  to France  introduced  the film Serial Bad Weddings  at the Mbare Art Space in Harare and similarly  after the screenings of the short films.

He mentioned the fast growing audience of the film and it being reproduced three times. He certainly meant the filmmakers who were present  to notice that short films can be reproduced into lengthy movies and the Serial Bad Wedding is one such type of film.

The Serial Bad Wedding film was produced at an approximate cost of 12.8 million Pounds.

A Catholic Couple from France  has their life turned upside down when their four daughters marry men from  different  races  and religions .

The Serial Bad Weddings  Film in French is better known as Quest-Ce quon a fait au Bon Dieu? which translates to What have we done to the Good Lord? 

The film reveals a lot on how people manipulate other people's culture, etiquette and cultural harmony.

In brief the comic tragedy in the film revolves around experiences from Marriages and neighbourhoods.

"Isabelle married Rashid Ben Assem, an Algerian Muslim Lawyer, Odile married David Benichou a Slephardi Jew entrepreneur and Segalene married Chaoling, a Han Chinese Banker who is open to all religious beliefs."

With this scenario racism, backwardness and tolerance becomes the centre of conflict as a creative response to some problems helps characters like Koffi being accepted.

The film also shows people manipulating and refining their  cultures in different ways. Some are harmed and some realise  betterment .

The audience at the Gweru Memorial Library were laughing throughout the screenings.

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