Langa Mabena
Mbulelo Mpofu
FOR a long time, Bulawayo’s media personality, Charlene Mangweni-Furusa has worked hard for her work to be seen and seen she was at the recently-held Rustenburg Film Festival.
Her debut film, See Me scooped the “Best TV Film” and “Best Director in a TV Film” gongs, adding a feather in her already illustrious career as both writer and director.
This year’s Rustenburg Film Festival took place at the Rustenburg Civic Centre and Ster-Kinekor Theatres Waterfall Mall in Rustenburg.
See Me is a series of short films based on true story and Mangweni-Furusa wrote and directed them.
The Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards (BAAs) and National Arts Merit Awards (Namas) gong recipient shared her joy with B-Metro Showbiz.
“It’s such a validating feeling and humbling as well to be recognised beyond our borders.
“This is been testament to the hardwork put in by the creatives who worked on this project. It’s humbling t have this recognition,” she said.
With a multi-faceted portfolio spread over news anchoring, emceeing, voice-over-artistry, acting, music video direction, theatre and commercials direction, Mangweni-Furusa has held the fort for a while now.
Quizzed on which one is her favourite, the Cook Off producer said, “I don’t have a favourite. This is literally because I believe they all literally feed into each other and with each hat I wear, I give my all and borrow talents and skill I’ve accrued whilst wearing the other hats.”
Her tag-team-esque partnership with husband, Tafadzwa “Croft” Furusa as Team Motion Zebra has seen the pair make huge strides in the film sector.
She has directed multiple music videos for Nyasha David including, Perfect reasons and Nokusingaperi further solidifying her artistic prowess.
Looking ahead, Mangweni-Furusa said she’s, “working on a theatre play with Danai Gurira’s Almasi Collaborative Arts. We have our first of 16 show today (Friday) at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. In terms of film, I am working on a couple of projects with my husband through our company, Motion Zebra and you will be seeing them soon on various platforms.”
The Festival, held between 6 and 10 November was a highlight reel, characterised by different events including an Opening Night Gala, an Industry Careers Day, Masterclasses and Workshops with South African top-tier film experts such as Kagiso Modupe, Ofentse Mwase, and Vincent Moloi.
Mangweni-Furusa’s exploits at the Rustenburg Film Festival stood as a statement of intent, spearheaded by female juggernauts.
Online Reporter