IIFF 2012 to laud successful women

capabilities, or affirmative policies to equate them to men, one thing the world can’t ignore is that women are on their way to the top.
They are increasingly discarding the victim-mentality and taking up the “I can do it” template.
Unlike yesteryear, when women were happy with  run-of-the-mill posts like heading the mother’s union, cookery clubs and being content in jotting down minutes at political caucuses, they are now gunning for the big positions.
If anything, they are now heavily involved in real leadership and seem to be performing well. Talk of Liberian president Ellen John-Sirleaf, Joyce Banda of Malawi, the recently appointed Africa Union chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and our own Vice-President Cde Joice Mujuru, you get the impression that the corridors of power are slowly warming up to feminine guidance.
Of course, it will be folly to think that all is well when they get there, but the majority of the female leadership is still struggling for recognition, while in some instances, their leadership style has been met with trepidation.
Suffice to say, everyone is celebrating their achievement.
A number of organisations, communities, political parties and nations at large, now want to be actively involved in supporting women for different reasons.
They could be doing it to ensure gender equality or they just want to be part of the fad. Either way, the tide is fast catching up with a lot of people and organisations as witnessed by the number of women and gender conventions and policies that are being implemented at different political and economic structures.
It is against that background that the International Images Film Festival organisers have this year introduced a new category, “New Man” that seeks to show how men assist women in various roles. The beauty about this year’s festival is that it will generally be celebrating women’s success stories, hence its theme “Women Alive”.
The theme “Women Alive” celebrates among other things, ways in which women survive under the most brutally repressive and poverty-stricken conditions.
The theme also celebrates women’s agency in transition and recognises the positive peace building change that individual women and groups of women and their allies can bring to their homes, communities and nations.
It also engages with the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number 3, promoting gender equality and empowering women, in relation to all the other MDGs. Because the organisers want the theme to come out well, filmmakers who want to submit films for consideration for this year’s special edition will need to submit documentaries and feature films that portray women as agent of their own experiences rather than just as undergoers of experiences.
The same films should capture how women remained alive physically, mentally and spiritually despite some of the experiences they went through in their families, communities, and the country at large.
There are questions filmmakers should consider as they try to come out with themes and storylines for their feature films.
For instance, filmmakers should ponder and critically look at issues at hand, rather than just rubber stamp policies that remain on paper and are yet to be implemented.
Some of the issues to be considered under this theme are if indeed the rhetoric of investing in women has been turned into real advancement of women in society or just a promise that remains on paper.
Other considerations are that the feature film should have attributes of good cinema, including good production values and entertainment value.
It should also show some analysis of the woman or women featured. The production date is irrelevant, but the film must have a woman in lead role. Ideally the film should be witty and humorous, featuring women who are not afraid to push boundaries in their quests, women who embrace the principles of extreme leadership. To me this is a great opportunity for female filmmakers to really tap into the issues affecting women and bring them to the fore in the most captivating and informative way.
Some of the areas that filmmakers may possibly need to look at include inheritance issue, empowerment of the girl child, the absence of social structures and safety nets, gender-based violence and other social and economic ills that are incapacitating women. The same feat has been achieved and it can be done again. Many will remember how the movies Flame, Neria, and Pamvura (Water) by Tsitsi Dangarembga influenced a shift in policy, especially on the issue of inheritance.
Women filmmakers will need to come out strong and relive women’s experiences, challenges, trials and tribulation. When doing documentaries, they will also need to acknowledge virtuous and courageous women who have achieved a lot in their communities and spheres of influence.
These include Dr Primrose Kurasha, Dr Hope Sadza, Divine Ndhlukula, Constance Chigwamba, Grace Muradzikwa, Madzimai Veronica Kwati and hundreds of women in our midst who have served their communities and their country well.
Although the documentaries, stories and feature films on women may not contain stuff to excite the Oscars, Golden Globe or Cannes Film Festival panelists, they will certainly make a difference to thousands of women, who will identify with these stories.
The stories will certainly be retold, not only in Zimbabwe, but also by hundreds of women in the region, who are only separated by political borders, but share the same stories and experiences.