Dangarembga’s film for India festival

screening at the prestigious fifth Samsung Women’s International Film Festival to be held at the Inko Centre in Chennai, India, next month.
The musical short film will be among more than 135 films and documentaries by various filmmakers from around the globe including India, Korea, Iran, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Olaf Koschke, speaking on behalf of Dangarembga, said: “The film made it to the festival after being spotted by programmers at the Luxor African Film Festival held in Luxor, Egypt, in February this year. Inko (the name of the venue where the films will be screened) stands for India-Korea, and points to the increasing collaboration in the arts in the Asian region.
“The documentaries and short films were selected by international curators from Korea, India, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Iran and Mexico,” Koschke said.
In April, “Nyaminyami and the Evil Eggs” had successful screenings in Milan, Italy, thus further consolidating Dangarembga’s stature as an international filmmaker of repute.
“From India the highly original Zimbabwean short film moves on to the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), which runs from July 19-29 in the South African port city.
“DIFF’s objectives are to produce a world-class, professionally implemented international film festival that presents a broad selection of culturally diverse, high quality films from around the world, with a special focus on South African and African cinema.
“At the same time DIFF offers a relevant seminar and workshop programme aimed at filmmakers, aspirant filmmakers, and general public, reaching the latter through a comprehensive and meaningful outreach screening programme that strategises effective audience development in all areas and levels,” Koschke said.
“Nyaminyami and the Evil Eggs” will be part of the productions that will be featured at the close to 200 screenings at various venues at the Durban festival that will also include industry seminars and workshops, in addition to the 5th Talent Campus which festival organisers will hold in conjunction with the Berlin Talent Campus.
Apart from having her film screened at the Durban festival, Dangarembga was also appointed to sit on the jury of the film fete which is touted as the biggest and most important international film festival on the African continent.
Dangarembga said she was honoured by this appointment. “This gives me the opportunity to show fellow international jurors that the Zimbabwean film expertise is competitive. It is also a chance to gather first-hand information on new trends that I can share with the sector, as well as to network with international players. This kind of networking is essential for the  development of our own industry.
“It is indeed a great honour to judge over 20 international feature films in the main competition, which excludes the short films,” she said.
“Nyaminyami and the Evil Eggs” is a musical short film that also incorporates traditional dances like “mbende” or commonly known as “jerusarema”.
It is based on Tonga legends about the mystical river goddess Nyaminyami who lives in the Zambezi River.
Some of her films include “Everyone’s Child,” which she produced, “Neria” (whose story she wrote), “I Want A Wedding Dress”, “Everyone’s Child”, Kare Kare Zvako” and “Mother’s Day”.