adminRumbidzai Mbewe, Sunday Life Correspondent
EVERY year female filmmakers and directors are given the chance to exhibit their work through the International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF). This year the festival will run from 26 August to 3 September around the country.
The festival retains last year’s theme Women Alive: Women of heart. The theme celebrates for the third year running tough women who possess the rare gift of loving unconditionally; daring women, women who despite daily challenges emerge stronger.
In an interview, the festival’s director, Laura Ganda said preparations for the festival were at an advanced stage and 61 films have been selected to be screened. She said screenings this year will take place at five venues.
“Preparations are going very well and we will be presenting a great event this year. Ster Kinekor will host the opening ceremony while the National Gallery of Zimbabwe will host the closing ceremony,” she said.
Ganda said unlike last year, this year the Sadc awards category will be returning which was great motivation for film makers in Southern Africa. She said one of the positive developments of the festival was the participation of Zambezi Magic.
“As part of our special event we have Zambezi Magic, an important development for the local film industry to participate in our events. Networking with them will help in content development for the local film industry and get their films in the regional market,” she said.
She said there will also be interesting programmes such as the Film Industry forum, a three-day event where industry players come together to discuss their vision from different perspectives for the film industry to move forward.
“We are also having the inaugural meeting for an upcoming project, the African Women Filmmakers Hub which is a pan-African project and this presents an opportunity for local women filmmakers to meet other filmmakers from the region to share ideas and identify opportunities for collaborations to develop the film industry,’ she said.
Ganda said the festival was a platform for female filmmakers and talented directors to share their unique perspectives and stories.
“IIFF remains committed to enhancing the representation of women in the film industry through creating an environment of working together with other industry players, bringing to the forefront the capacity of women film makers. IIFF is paving the way for the next generation of female filmmakers,’ she said.
She pointed out that women film makers were not being given equal opportunities as their male counterparts. She said this was not only affecting Zimbabwe but was a global issue that needs to be dealt with.
Online Reporter