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Film Review
Tinashe Kusema
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino, Tim Burton and Steven Spielberg are familiar names in the film industry.
No Mount Rushmore picks are complete without one, if not more, of the aforesaid stars, who are considered five of the greatest filmmakers of this and any other generation.
They also share one incredible backstory — they neither attended film school nor did any related training.
Yes, they are self-made filmmakers.
What makes their tale even more remarkable is the number of young aspiring filmmakers who have been inspired by their origin story.
Robert Mhuka, Cuthbert Mafuta and Prince Chirira are three kids from Epworth who came together because of a Canon PowerShot A495 camera and their love for film.
They recently finished shooting their first feature film, “Uncalculated Mistake”, which was premiered at the Ster-Kinekor cinemas on April 25.
The film traces a girl by the name of Petty (Nyaradzo Matanga), whom we find at her wits’ end after a failed marriage to Philip (Ngoni Chikowore), who had taken a mistress.
A failed suicide sees the film’s main protagonist recount her story to her pastor, detailing everything about her troubled childhood, marriage and the mental anguish the other woman caused her.
The trailer looks promising.
I recently caught up with the trio at the Nikromat Films offices in Harare for an interview that dwelt less on their debut project and more on their passion for art and converging journeys.
“I finished my education back in 2019, shortly before the pandemic (Covid-19), and took my first steps towards film soon after,” revealed Mhuka, who appears to be the brains behind the venture.
“I will trace back my origins a couple of years before completing school, as I had this Canon camera and would play around with it and use it to make some extra cash.
“This is how I met Cuthbert (Mafuta), who was my landlord’s son and later Prince (Chirira) through church.
“We bonded over our love for photography — self-taught — and even started a small printing company in Epworth. It grew into a photography business where we took pictures at weddings and small functions in and around our area.”
After school, Mhuka held a few eight-to-five jobs but none of them satisfied him financially and emotionally.
The pandemic hit and the three boys had to create their own entertainment, which, by and large, led to the creation of their film company.
Each one of them brought something to the table.
Mhuka was the writer and director, while Mafuta focused more on the technical aspects, editing and visual effects. Chirira is more hands-on and mostly does the camera work.
At this juncture, none of the boys had any form of training.
“When I first met Robert and we decided to open up shop in Epworth, I had a menial job in Mbare but my passion lay elsewhere,” said Mafuta.
“I have always loved software designing and would rip apart every computer or programme I came across.
“I taught myself a lot of things and ended up very proficient in software designing and editing. I remember, these guys would go for shoots and I would stay behind and end up doing the editing afterwards.”
The three agreed on setting up and registering Nikromat Films.
They spent most of the time during the pandemic reading and researching on their roles and duties.
Their reading went beyond the technical stuff, as they used the stories of Cameron, Tarantino and Spielberg for inspiration. They even researched on other self-made men like Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft Corporation; and Tyler Perry, a world-renowned producer, director, actor and screenwriter.
It is all inspirational stuff.
The trio was united by their love for film and set about writing their own story on perseverance, determination and self-belief.
There is more than a single lesson to derive from their story.
“Uncalculated Mistake” took just under five months to make on a budget of about US$7 000.
“The actual project started back in 2021, as I found a couple of writers to develop the story for me. Production, however, started in November last year and we wrapped up shooting in January,” revealed Mhuka.
“Post-production then took us from January to April. We did not have a lot of money and had to improvise on a lot of things. Everyone brought in his skills, from directing (Mhuka), the camera work (Chirira) to post-production and visual effects (Mafuta).” Most of the cast were upstarts who featured on the project to get experience and exposure, hence they were not paid.
“We did have a few recognisable names, like our lead actors in Matanga and Chikowore, whom we approached and pleaded with.
“They were kind enough to lend us their expertise and we gave them the little peanuts we could afford,” added Mhuka.
Online Reporter