Film, TV & Theatre - Film News
Wednesday, 10 November 2010 07:05
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When traditional meets urban you can be sure there will be friction, pain and laughter. Be ready for belly-deep mirth when Lobola, an interesting new comedy, opens to the public on the November 25. The movie already has serious bait as it stars Munyaradzi Chidzonga, the ‘Diamond Boy’ who represented Zimbabwe in Big Brother Africa All Stars.
Written and directed by Joe Njagu, the 93-minute comedy depicts the clash between traditional and modern perceptions regarding the paying of lobola, the bride price, a practice common in African cultures. In fact the log line reads: The mutilation of the African marriage custom by a cosmopolitan groom, his brothers and their accomplice, the bride.
Munya co-produced the movie.
The film tells about the Moyana family which lives in the high density suburb of Chitungwiza. The Moyanas find themselves confronted with a peculiar situation when their daughter Christine courts a young man Sean (played by Chidzonga) who comes from a wealthy clan, the Muza family. The Muzas stay in America and own a granite importing business which has been flourishing for fourteen years.
Sean Muza who is heir to the family fortune decides to spend his summer vacation with his two cosmopolitan brothers in Zimbabwe. This decision ignites an argument with their father, Mr. Muza (played by Joe Pike), but the brothers go ahead anyway.
In Zimbabwe Sean meets Christine (Dalma Chiwereva) the beautiful daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Moyana (played by James Joni and Pretty Xaba respectively) and decides to marry her following a brief courtship. From beginning to end, Lobola creates untold laughter as the two families try to come to terms with each other’s cultures.
“The movie Lobola is an account of the day on which the Muza boys cross town to the Moyana residence in Chitungwiza to do everything necessary for the fulfillment of the cultural wedding process known as ‘lobola’ (‘roora’ in Shona),” reads part of the synopsis.
The comedy boasts of a talented cast that includes other veterans Joe Pike and Pretty Xaba and new talent such as Tonderai Hakuna, Sean Ray and Alice Makaya. Other members of the cast are; Edmore Sandifolo, Charity Dlodlo and Antony Tongani.
The production of the film, which started 4 years ago with 15 screenplay drafts, has so far struck several milestones, which include the introduction of High Definition Single Lens Reflex (HDSLR) filming to Zimbabwean filmmaking, dual system audio, and world class cinematography. Lobola is the first Zimbabwean Full High Definition (HD) film.
The movie was made possible by a collaboration between The Decent Arthouse, Fireside Stories, Mighty Movies and Ivory Pictures.
The executive producers, i.e. the funders of the movie, are Supa Mandiwanzira, Joe Njagu, Rufaro Kaseke, Nyaradzo Muchena and Munyaradzi Chidzonga.
By the way, it's culturally taboo to pay your lobola in November. Just so you know.
- Stuart Moyo for The Zimbo Jam
BIG Brother Africa star, Munyaradzi Chidzonga will join the United States Ambassador and a host of other local celebrities and sports personalities for a public HIV test as part of activities aimed at marking this year’s World AIDS day.
The US embassy in Harare is holding a series of events to mark World AIDS day and encourage Zimbabwean youths to take control of their health by knowing their HIV status.
The commemoration which is also aimed at celebrating local successes in the fight against HIV and AIDS will include the public test, a girls’ school football tournament and a ceremony to honour outstanding Zimbabwean HIV and AIDS activists.
On Wednesday Munya, whose movie Lobola, premiered in Harare last Thursday, will join Ambassador Charles Ray, musician Edith Katiji and premiership footballers Norman Maroto (Gunners Football Club) and Washington Arubi, and Desmond Maringwa (both of Dynamos Football Club) for a public HIV test in central Harare.
The commemorations will culminate in the annual Auxillia Chimusoro Awards ceremony at a city Hotel on Thursday.
“The awards, which include cash, will be given to individuals judged to have excelled in communication, leadership, social investment and any outstanding works that have made a remarkable impact in Zimbabwean society in mitigating the effects and impact of HIV and AIDS,” the US embassy said in a statement.
In their 10th year, the awards are named for Auxillia Chimusoro, one of the first individuals to disclose her HIV positive status in Zimbabwe.
Chimusoro publicly disclosed her HIV positive status at age 33 in 1989 and went on to found Batanai HIV/AIDS Support Group in 1992. She was one of the founders of the Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS and worked with several support groups before her passing in 1998.
Estimates from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) indicate that Zimbabwe is one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa with some 1.6 million adults, 15 years and older, said to have been living with HIV/AIDS in 2005.
However, the country has made significant progress in containing the spread of the virus with the rate of new infections coming down over the last few years.
Data from the state-run National AIDS Council shows that the HIV and AIDS prevalence rate for the 15 to 49 years age group eased to 14.26 percent in 2009 with projections of a continued decline to 13.7 percent by the end of 2010.
