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Bruce Ndlovu
The Joe Njagu produced film, Cook Off, broke new ground this week when it opened this year’s Africa on Screen festival in Australia when it was shown on the big screen at the Loop Bar and Project Space.
It was not the first time that the star studded film, written and directed by Thomas Brickhill was shown outside the country’s borders, as it already made it to screens in the United States, Netherlands and South Africa.
The film features celebrities, among them South Africa-based Zimbabwean actress Tendaiishe Chitima, as the protagonist, singer Tehn Diamond, veteran actress Jessesi Mungoshi, poet Chirikure Chirikure, Anne Nhira, Kudzai Sevenzo and Michael Kudakwashe.
The nearly two-hour-long romantic comedy tells the story of Anesu, who feels like she missed her chance in life until her son enters her into auditions for a reality TV cooking show.
This feel-good tale of a single mother who enters the reality cooking show with only half a hope, was completed with less than US$8 000 in economic conditions that have seen some film makers put away their cameras and wait for more sunnier days.
When it premièred in the capital last year, it drew near capacity crowds in most of its early showings.
The film’s producers had the benefit of expert hands on set, as they worked with the set of Zimbabwe’s real-life Battle of the Chefs television show, and reflective of the passion and commitment of the film’s cast and crew, critics have observed that Cook Off’s production values vastly outweigh its modest budget and the circumstances under which it was made.
The film had the honour of being the first Zimbabwean feature film ever to be selected for Seattle International Film Festival, and placed 38th out of 187 films in the Audience Awards at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in 2018.
Bongani Ndlovu