Report by Tinashe Mushakavanhu
The makers of “The Zim,” a short film starring American star Alexander Bedria with credits in hit US shows such as Scandal, Criminal Minds and Zimbabwe’s golden boy of film Tongayi Chirisa are running an indiegogo campaign to raise $40,000.
The film will be the first Hollywood treatment of the land invasions that precipitated the downward spiral of Zimbabwe.
The 20 minute film revolves around a white farmer, Daniel Silva’s struggle to protect his farm and loved ones amidst the violent turmoil of the land seizures.
It is an encounter that has been told and retold, but mostly through political lenses. However, The Zim, deals with the nuances of the process, not just as a black and white struggle, but as a complicated issue rooted in history and politics with consequences on personal relationships.
Photo credit: www.cfuzim.org
But if “The Zim” is predominantly an absorbing character study of victims and villains of the land reform, it is also fleshed out with well-sketched minor players and subplots that illuminate the human dimension of land ownership and displacement.
The film will certainly trigger conversation about a country whose economic crisis has intersected with a crisis of political legitimacy that ultmately led to extreme forms of land seizure.
The filmmakers spent two years developing the storyline combing through research data from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Zimbabwe HumanRights NGO Forum as well as conducting interviews with Zimbabweans, both black and white, who witnessed and experienced land invasions and distilling all that material into just 20 minutes of thrilling cinema.
For Bedria, who is also the writer and director, this is not just a Zimbabwean film but a human story with a universal appeal.
“My hope is that our audience will be moved and transported by our film, regardless of their knowledge of the events that transpired in Zimbabwe during that period, and be curious to learn more.”
With only 17% of the target raised the indiegogo campaign which started in early August is still open until September 23.
