Online Reporter
IN yesterday’s issue of H-Metro we reported that something is definitely brewing in Zimbabwe’s film industry.
We reported that it’s an industry that is no longer the quiet, underfunded corner of African arts.
From Mai TT’s glitzy Nigerian collaboration in ‘Lost in Ashes, which set tongues wagging in Harare, to the latest triumph in Beverly Hills, Zimbabwean cinema is strutting confidently onto the global stage.‘Rise’ is a homegrown short film and it has impressed Hollywood insiders by scooping three
glittering awards at the Lady Filmmakers Festival in Los Angeles.
This was Zimbabwean talent going toe-to-toe with the best in the world, and winning.
Written and directed by Jessica Rowlands, produced by Joe Njagu, and fronted by international star Tongayi Chirisa, Rise walked away with Best Short Film, Best Actor for Chirisa, and Best Up-and-Coming Young Actor for little-known but now unforgettable Sikhanyiso Ngwenya.
Njagu said this was all about rewriting the script for the Zimbabwean film industry. He said a win makes all the hard work worth it and, for the local industry, it’s about getting international eyes on local stories.
The Lady Filmmakers Festival is a Beverly Hills institution that celebrates women behind the camera and the men who back them.
And, for a Zimbabwean story to dominate there, it’s historic.
And Rowlands is clear about the weight of it all. But beyond the glitz of Los Angeles red carpets, RISE has become a mirror for Zimbabwe’s evolving film culture.
For years, local cinema was trapped in what Njagu calls “the NGO era” — where classics like
Neria and Yellow Card were made not for commercial success but donor-funded agendas.
It created talent but not a market but things are shifting.
Njagu also admits that passion alone won’t sustain the industry and the sector needs to be
supported from the top and authorities should invest in the creative sector — from policy to infrastructure.
Eight-year-old Sikhanyiso Ngwenya stole hearts.The success of the movie signals that Zimbabwean storytelling isn’t just capable of competing
globally but it can also lead.
Rowlands confirmed that RISE is now set to premiere at the Tribeca Festival 2025 in New York, a first for any Zimbabwean film.
Njagu is also preparing for the next blockbuster, Dilemma, which promises a star-studded ensemble including Luthuli Dlamini, Albert Nyathi, Farai Chigudu, and newcomer Chloe Thandeka Ncube in the lead.
Zimbabwean filmmakers are building on small victories to reach bigger stages. We are proving that we can compete, we can tell global stories, and we can make films that travel.
Mai TT showed at the weekend that the local film industry is now breathing and the mission should be about ensuring that we don’t take our hands off the wheel.
Our biggest challenge in the past is that we have tended to lose focus once we start believing that we have turned the corner.
Rather than add value to our work, we tend to lose focus and relax and that has come at a huge cost for our industry.
Mathew Masinge