Wizzy dedicates film to mom

Beaven Tapureta Bookshelf
Writer Wizzy Mangoma has proved she is multi-talented by producing a debut 90-minute feature titled “When the Voice Sings” which also graced the International Images Film Festival for Women held in Harare in August this year.

What’s more, she has dedicated the film to her mother. Last week, October 1, marked one year since Wizzy’s mother, Theresa “Gogo” Mangoma, passed on due to cancer.

Gogo Mangoma gave motherly support during the production of the film and although she had busy chemotherapy sessions because of her illness, the actual making of the movie was a devout journey with her daughter.

Wizzy posted on her Facebook page a touching commemorative message for her late mother.

“Mom, it’s one year today, 1 October, since you left us. I am remembering your spirit celebrating and appreciating everything you gave us. You taught us to embrace the essence of appreciating life with its ups and downs. You taught us to love everyone from any background. You gave us tools to face the world. I smile today with tears, thanking you for being my light, my candle of hope, my greatest inspiration. Most of all I thank you for being my mom.

The movie ‘When The Voice Sings’ is dedicated to you. You were there through it all. Ndinotenda,” read the message.

Apart from the encouragement from her family, friends and the IIFF director Yvonne Jila, Wizzy says she was also guided by the spirit of knowing that her mother would be so proud of her.

“Mother was much stronger than I was. Enduring chemo is not an easy thing but she could help in making food for the actors. When we finished shooting the film, she saw the trailer and she said, ‘I approve’. And then she died shortly afterwards,” said Wizzy.

Having lived far from home for many years, mainly in Denmark for 17 years, Wizzy said she felt there is nothing else she could imagine would make her mother happy than to give back what she got from her (mother), that is, eternal love. One can imagine how much stronger the bond was between mother and daughter, like a spiritual journey.

The film “When the Voice Sings” is about a young woman, Mauya, who comes back to Zimbabwe after studying in the USA to find out that her family no longer lives at their old place of residence. She starts a non-profit organisation dedicated to empower young girls and orphans. One of the youths links her to her past.

Wizzy said she wrote the film while she was in the USA and was imagining how it would feel to be home.

And when she finally came home in 2013, she decided to give Zimbabwe a timeless gift. Wizzy, a multi-talented and well-travelled artiste, has written a number of short films for theatre companies in the USA and acted in television series when she was in Denmark.

With “When the Voice Sings” taking part in the International Images Film Festival in a short period of time after its completion, it serves well to say the film is destined for a great future. It was one of the only four feature films from Zimbabwe screened at the 2014 IIFF.

“The festival helped me because after your movie is screened, they tell you to stand up and the audience asks you questions and/or just comment. It’s an amazing thing. I actually encourage filmmakers to be part of the film festival. My movie got positive comments which I will use to make it better,” said Wizzy.

As an author, Wizzy has published three books, namely, a children’s story titled “Manjanja: The Shining Red Fruit” (PublishAmerica, 2011), poetry collection called “Moment Treasures” (2010) and a creative journal titled “As They Find A Way: A Journey of Various Zimbabwean Women” (Xlibris Corp, 2011) which she compiled and co-edited with well-known model Teurai Chanakira.

In 2007 she won an Editor’s Choice Award for one of her poems “Tear Drop”. She also has contributed works in anthologies such as “Twilight Musings” and “Songs of Honour”.

In the children’s story “Manjanja: The Shining Red Fruit’” Wizzy portrays, through illustrations, song and a language rich with imagery, a community grounded on love and sharing, virtues which children will hold dear as they grow. This story also inspires children to understand what it means to be observers and good listeners.

Ten-year-old Saka observes his father’s changed behaviour and listens to his mother’s instructions, leading to the exposure of his father’s selfishness. The whole community forgives Saka’s father (Kanda) and bring him back to innocence. Wizzy said she wishes this children’s story could be published locally so that Zimbabwean children can also enjoy and learn from it.

Film and literature are inseparable arts. Other women writers who have successfully ventured into the film industry include Tsitsi Dangarembga, author of the treasured 1988 novel “Nervous Conditions”. Dangarembga wrote, among other films, the well-known 1993 Zimbabwean film “Neria” which has been described as the “highest grossing film in Zimbabwean history”.

Asked what she thought about the link between literature and film, Wizzy said she decided to produce a film and not a book because content decides form and film has an advantageous visual impact.

“I am this person who likes to tell stories in different ways. With the film I wanted to make people feel the rhythm of life presented in it,” she said.

“I will not stop writing poetry, scripts for film or anything. I am inspired by my life, what I have gone through and who I meet. I jot things down when I am walking around. That gives me a lot to write about. So yes, there will always be something coming in the form of a book,” said Wizzy.

And indeed, content determines form as Dangarembga also echoes in a documentary called “Sisters of the Screen” which is about African women filmmakers. “For me the important thing is to communicate. If I feel I want to say something, then I want to say it. It just depends on what the situation is, maybe what the idea or context is, whether that comes out as a play, poem, novel or cinema script,” says Dangarembga.

Wizzy Mangoma’s profile is extensive. She is a performing artiste, screenwriter, dancer/choreographer, event organiser for fashion shows, charity and cultural functions, model, actress, poet/spoken word artiste, accessory/graphic designer (e.g. inspirational greeting cards), motivational speaker, children’s storyteller, creative consultant, recreational motivator, mentor (for elementary schools, corporate settings and those in need) and a thinker.

Ever since she came back home, she has not stopped following the full package of her passion. She runs various projects such as a forthcoming arts-inspired magazine and ZimUprooted, which is an association aimed at bringing undiscovered artists onto the local and international platform. She also has a compilation music album featuring 21 upcoming artistes and a spoken word CD which she hopes to release early next month.