HARARE – The late mbira queen Chiwoniso Maraire as well as departed actors Mackey Tickeys and Simon “Mutirowafanza” Shumba were awarded the Safirio Madzikatire Lifetime Achievement Award by the Zimbabwe International Film Festival(ZIFF) awards at the weekend.
The trio was posthumously honoured for their outstanding contribution to the Zimbabwean film industry through the awards and the Short Film Project (SFP).
“I would like to congratulate ZIFF for yet another successful festival. Culture Fund has been supporting other sectors which promote culture in Zimbabwe, including film.
“The SFP is one such programme we supported. It is such programmes like SFP which make the film industry grow and extend to other countries. We also recognise that art is a platform where we mirror our society,” she said.
During the just-ended Zimbabwe International Film Festival, two short films titled Freedom and The Collector were launched.
The Collector’s significance lies in that it is the first Zimbabwean film to feature a person who is visually impaired.
Edith Masango, who features as Jane in The Collector and is visually impaired, has praised the ZIFF for giving opportunities to the visually impaired.
“People must not take the blind for granted; we have a lot to achieve too.
“I wake up every morning to sweep the yard and do other chores just like every Zimbabwean woman,” she said.
ZIFF Trust director Nigel Munyati, however, attacked the
Harare City Council for their heavy-handedness.
“We were screening at Copacabana and the City of Harare came and confiscated our equipment. This is against the growth of the film sector,” said Munyati.
