EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL 2024-HARARE EVENT. 3 LESSONS TO TAKE HOME FROM THE FESTIVAL.

The European Union Film Festival Zimbabwe 2024 Harare was an event to remember for a long time. With so many reasons to celebrate this gathering, I was blown away by some scenes that caught my attention during the 3 days. Before I forget one thing, this year′s event is my first time attending a film festival under the?European Union Film Festival. And you know what that means, I will be sharing with you more entertaining as well as educative things I took home (lol) I am just kidding but the fact is I saw something that I believe will help our Zimbabwean film industry move further, (some people call it the 2 cents contribution)

Okay, still under introduction I would like to thank everyone for?reading my article if you are new to my blog then consider subscribing, and sharing is not a crime at all. Your comments and suggestions are greatly welcome as well.

I'm back to business now. I want to share with you the 3 lessons that I saw from every event that took place from October 11th to October 13th, 2024, at Mbare Arts Centre in Mbare.

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LESSON NUMBER 1.

“NETWORKING IS IMPORTANT.”

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I attended the second and third days of the event [Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th of?October] the opening day of the ceremony was very much occupied with my shooting schedule for my upcoming short film. While attending the event, I saw the great need for strong networking if we as Zimbabwean filmmakers are to go far in producing top-quality films that can compete with the outside world. I believe that competition is good provided there is a platform to do that and we are heading in the right direction of delivering content to people. This is vital in constructing a strong foundation in representing our film industry with other filmmakers from the rest of the world.

I want you to?understand one thing here, I am not saying what has been done already by filmmakers like Nakai Tsuro, Joe Njagu, and?Mestar Munashe is of no importance to the film community but if we are to cement the core values of our industry more unity is needed within the family. During discussions with many top filmmakers who came, one thing I noticed is that everyone is ready to work with anyone who has a project at hand that is of interest to our audience.

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LESSON NUMBER 2.

“THERE IS SO MUCH ZIMBABWE CAN OFFER TO THE WORLD.”

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From Joe Njagu winning an international award for his movie NGODA to Daniel Lasker who has so many acting credits including "One Piece" on Netflix, "Raised by Wolves", on HBO Max, "Noughts & Crosses" on BBC One, "Vagrant Queen" on SYFY, "Abraham Lincoln" on History and "London Calling" to continuing the list with the likes of Rumbi Katedza, Nakai Matema, Kudakwashe Bwititi to mention a few for the sake of writing this article. All these filmmakers have proven that local and international audiences can expect the best from any anytime of the day.

And what I liked the most about the European Union Film Festival Zimbabwe is that this time around they managed to bring most of them during the 3-day event. What I am not sure of is if some if not all were present at the event that stretched to other Zimbabwean cities [Kadoma, Bulawayo, and Gweru]. I am now a big fan of Nigerian movies and this is because my wife who watches Nollywood content like never before crazy kept sending me invitation after invitation to watch until I gave it a try. Of all the reasons I can say I love them now is the fact that many writers, directors, and producers are coming together to?tell stories that many fall in love with.

One Nigerian filmmaker I asked a question why they do that (collaborations) mentioned the fact that when two or three filmmakers join hands chances of reaching a wider audience is very possible because the?Nigerian audience as well as the international community that watches Nigerian content do have their favorite filmmakers.

I loved the idea and I am beginning to see that in this country of Zimbabwe. My opinion is, that?it is wiser to walk the road of collaborations as filmmakers to produce and reach a wider community. As it is said if you want to travel faster walk alone but if you want to go far walk with someone. I am not sure if I get that right, you do your research.

LESSON NUMBER 3.

“FILM CARRIES SOCIETAL LESSONS AND MORALS”

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During the second day of the Harare event, the screening of one of Zimbabwe′s best short film comedies was one highlight of the show. Derby Bheta one local name in the filmmaking department, wrote and directed the award-winning short film, MY HUSBAND JOE. A story about a guy who wants a child from his “official” wife but finds himself impregnating two more women outside wedlock forcing the first wife to leave the home. However, when the second wife is about to settle in her new home, she discovers that there is another pregnant woman who has just arrived the same day as her. My rating for the story is 8.5 out of a 10.

What the story carries is something that is happening in real life in the African continent. Marital hub becomes a problem when there is nothing to show in the family like children, respect and financial stability. These issues create tensions that if not handled correctly can divide the family and in the case of MY HUSBAND JOE, because there was no child in the home the man was forced to find happiness outside even, he had vowed to his wife never to do that again. A very terrible man who is very funny indeed.

Film has the capacity to change the perception of people and the societies we live in. good films carry positive impact whereas the bad ones in so many ways do indeed set pace in how we react to situations we face in life on a daily basis. When one watches a film of any kind its is like going to school and learn something they do not know but are willing to give it a try, think of romantic stories. I heard that years ago some prisoners even tried escaping from many prisons in the United States of America after watching the famous Prison Break series. I do not know how true is that but with the impact the story had on many people, one would try I believe.

I have seen that our stories as Zimbabwean filmmakers do possess different messages that can change the view point of one if we can give them time and full support. The messages on some films, documentaries, talk shows and even music has positivity not only to local Zimbabwean audience but the rest of the world.