Ziyanda’s long-awaited takeoff…super producer ‘Mr B’jets in

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
ZIYANDA’s executive producer, Dumisani Nkomo describes the film as “an idea whose time has come”. After seven years, during which some might have begun to doubt Nkomo’s vision, dismissing his dream as an illusion dressed up as long-term ambition, it looks like Ziyanda is finally ready to explode into life on the big screen. It has been an arduous journey, with Nkomo and his motley crew of believers shedding sweat and tears behind the scenes as they attempt to bring to life what would be undoubtedly the biggest locally produced film in Zimbabwe’s 42-year-old history.

It all starts with the arrival of heavyweight, award-winning South Africa-based film producer Bonginhlanhla “Mr B” Ncube, who jets in today for engagements with local cast and crew, as he prepares for the start of shooting in November. For keen followers of South African cinema, Mr B is a familiar enough man, having helmed such blockbusters as Safe Bet, Wrong Call, “48” and Colours. His TV feature film “48” was commissioned by M-Net with the film going on to pick several awards, including honours at the Honolulu Film Awards in Hawaii.

Mentored by North American film guru, Peter Marshall, Mr B is also a three-time judge of the South African Film and Television Awards, the biggest film ceremony of its nature in Mzansi. Snapping up the Zimbabwe-born producer is a coup for Nkomo and company, and after a long and lean seven years during which some might have accused them of selling a dream that was well past its sell-by-date, he told Sunday Life that it was now time for Ziyanda to take off. Having secured some funding and hi-tech equipment for filming, he can now finally see the promised land at long last.

“Like everybody else, we face similar challenges in the sense that there is absolutely no funding for film and Ziyanda is an international production. Because of the scope of the production, in the past it has been difficult to source any support for the film. Despite the sheer size of the budget but we have been relentless in terms of our resource mobilisation. We have managed to secure some and I’m happy to announce that we have setup a company, Ramatsatsi Productions which will be the business vehicle that will produce the movie,” he said.

The key to the future vision of the film, is Mr B, who is expected to hit the ground running, elevating the human trafficking flick’s production values. “As I said, we have already secured top of the range filming equipment which was something that we struggled with in the beginning. We have engaged Bonginhlanhla Ncube, who is a Zimbabwe-born director who has helmed many award-winning productions in South Africa, making films such as Safe Bet and “48”.

He will take the film to the next level and he is coming over this weekend to do the final preparation for the film. We are looking to start shooting before the end of the year and Mr B is a perfectionist who never leaves anything to chance. So, he will be doing some final preparations as this is the first phase. He will be coming back in September and October for the second phase so we can begin shooting in November,” he said.

Joining Mr B will be Mike Mutombo, a man hailed as one of the best cinematographers on the continent. “The film director, Bonginhlanhla is coming this week for some meetings and to lay the ground for the shooting of the film. We are going to have a breakfast meeting between him and editors of various new agencies next week and we are going to bring in top class cast and crew. Mr B is internationally respected and our cinematographer, Mike Mutombo, is one of the best in Africa. In fact, one of his films scooped the top prize in the Durban Film Festival last month. So, we have brought in a top crew that will be able to impart skills to our up-and-coming film makers while at the same time allowing us to produce a top-class, international quality 90-minute feature film,” he said.

Nkomo said while they might have faced criticism for promising much and delivering little, many did not seem to realise that the makers of the Ziyanda movie had a long-term vision that could not be compromised for short-term thrills. During the long-wait, makers of the movie had also remained active, he said.

“As I said, we have managed to secure some funds but it’s not like we have not been doing anything through this time. We have done over 10 training sessions for cast and we have the likes of Luthuli Dlamini and Zinhle Ncipha doing online sessions with the cast. We have done a film actors’ camp over three or four days and we have done workshops to equip our actors.

“Some of them, like Natasha Dlamini, Leticia Dlamini and Donna Ncube have actually made it to other productions. I’m very glad that the fortitude of the team has seen the film actually coming through. If it were other people, they would have given up. Remember for Avatar it took over 10 years to produce movie. They had to wait for the right time, the right financing and the right technology. It was the same with us, in the sense that we had to wait for the right financing and technology,” he said.

Nkomo said while Zimbabwean cinema lovers would get a lot of joy from the flick, they were also targeting international eyeballs because of the great scope and ambition of the movie. “Our aim is not restricted to the Zimbabwean market but it’s geared towards the international market and that’s why we bidded our time. We had to be determined, we had to make sure that we had to go on against all odds and keep moving. A lot of personal funds were used during this process but I’m happy that we have a lot of goodwill both locally and internationally. Due to that we are able to resume the project once again.

“I’m also happy that over the past year we have also helped other filmmakers in Zimbabwe. We have helped the makers of such films as Veza and The Signal in terms of their own launches. So, our work has not just been limited to Ziyanda but it is extended to other filmmakers and we have assisted financially and in other ways. This is despite the fact that we have faced major challenges ourselves,” he said.

Nkomo also said while some might trumpet the film’s failures so far, it would be beneficial to instead highlight its triumphs. “I would like to encourage us as Bulawayo and Zimbabwe, not to focus on what has not been done but instead to turn to what has been done. People like celebrating failure and saying Ziyanda has not been done for so long but we are saying this is a marathon and not a sprint. If we did the film five years ago, people would have forgotten about it but because we have taken our time to mobilise resources and the right people, we are going to do a film that will be remembered for generations. This is because of the meticulous plan that has gone into it and the time we have put in trying to get in the right financing and the right technical and skills mix for the project,” he said.

With the finish line now in sight, Nkomo said that this will be one of the greatest film projects ever attempted on the northern side of the Limpopo. “Every good thing takes a long time so we need to look at the end product. Let’s look at the journey and what it took to get here and not the negative that Bulawayo and Zimbabwe are associated with. It’s an idea whose time has come and probably the largest film production to take place in Zimbabwe for the last few decades hence our desire to work with the right people and not rush and do a project that will then be forgotten in a short space of time,” he said.

The original cast of the film, which tackles the scourge of human trafficking around the continent, included former Generations actress Katlego Danke, Rhythm City actress Nhlanhla Ncipha, local actress Penelope Moyo, TV presenter Nyasha Mtamangira and gospel musician, Pastor G, among others.