Liberty Dube
PREPARATIONS for this year’s edition of the Zimbabwe International Film and Festival slated for Harare have reached an advanced stage with tens of local and international filmmakers registering to participate in the edition.
The 17th Film Festival will run from October 3 to 10.  In an interview, the festival director, Elton Mjanana, said they had introduced a new concept to the festival, a five-minute film competition called The Hi-Five short film.

“We call upon local filmmakers, amateurs and professionals to participate in this project which would revolutionise film making by submitting their films in DVD format at 2 Canterbury, Kensington, Avondale, or email a downloadable link to [email protected]. We are happy with the preparations and the hype is overwhelming. We will on September 15 release the programme of screening and we are looking forward to have one of the most successful editions,” he said.

He urged filmmakers to ensure that the submitted film would be captivating non-dialogue work of art that is not a music video.

“Emphasis should therefore be on narrative and a well-told story with strong characters. The deadline for submissions is September 30 and the shorts will be screened during the festival. Winners will receive cash prizes and a grand opportunity to rent high quality filmmaking equipment for their next project,” he added.

The overall winner will walk away with $500 and state of art equipment rental to the value of $500, while the second and third placed will have state of the art equipment rental to the value of $300 and $200 respectively.
The Hi-Five Short Film competition is being run with sponsorship from the Germany Embassy, Zimbabwe German Society/Goethe Institute and Media Matrix Equipment Rental.