Cineam's Undiscovered Rough Diamond's

Zimbawian Film Director wins Acclaim at International Film Festival

Article by beverly andrews

Friday 27th April 2007, 17:58

 

Female cinema directors have traditionally found it difficult to establish and sustain lasting careers.  With such notable exceptions as Jane Campion and Sofia Coppola in the west and Samira Makmalbouf and Mira Nair from the third world there are few women who have been able to continually put their vision on our cinema screens.  It’s interesting to note that two of these women come from cinema dynasties (Makmalbour and Coppola) with powerful fathers playing instrumental roles in helping their daughters break through the cinema glass ceiling. The Bird’s Eye View film festival which takes place this spring at London’s ICA is set to highlight the often unheralded work of women directors who continue to struggle to bring a female perspective to the cinema going public.

 

The Bird’s Eye View festival will include features such has Away with Her starring Julie Christie, a film which looks at the devastating effects of Alzheimer on a hitherto happily married couple or Maggie Gyllenhaal’s acclaimed performance as a recovering addict in SherryBaby.  But one of the most eagerly anticipated strands in this festival is the festival’s section which highlights the work of Third World female directors and includes a strong showing from Africa. Perhaps the most celebrated of these is Tsitsi Dangarembja from Zimbabwe.  Her astonishing feature Mother’s Day will be screened in festival,  has the festival organisers prepare for its opening gala Dangarembja gives an exclusive interview to Functionpix.  The film, Mother’s Day looks at the devastating consequences of famine on a rural community and how in a traditional African family it is seen as the responsibility of the mother to make the greatest sacrifice.  Dangarembga cites as her influence a local tale she heard from her grandmother .  “It is common not only in Zimbabwa but other parts of the region”  A tale which shows how in traditionally male dominated cultures women often bear the brunt of the responsibility for any of the difficulties which may beset the family.  In Dangarembga’s version of this traditional tale once the father realises there is no food left he quickly moves on to make the devastating choice of cannibalism but assumes that his wife will be a willing victim.  Dangarembga in telling this horrifying story incorporates, dance and  music alongside naturalistic acting.  She also uses cinematic techniques most closely associated with animation to bring a fresh and startling effect to an intriguing tale.  The piece shows a natural command of the medium along with an ability to use film to tell her story in a completely original way.  Her natural talents has a director are so apparent from this beautiful piece that it’s interesting to note that Dangarembga didn’t grow up with a love for cinema but rather a love for literature.  “I was more a reader than a lover of film as a young person.  Film actually came much later.  After independence in Zimbabwe in 1980 when possibilities were opening up and I saw that film could be used to tell my stories to other people.  Not just other people’s stories to me .”

 

Given Dangaremba’s love of literature it is not perhaps surprising to note that she has had several novels published.  Her first when she was only 25, entitled Nervous Conditions and upon its publication was heralded as a masterpiece by fellow Zimbabwean  the legendary novelist Doris Lessing. The book has gone on to be translated into twelve languages.  

 

Dangarembga left Zimbabwa to study film abroad in both the states as well as Europe and then returned to direct several films including the feature length Everyone’s Child a devastating look at the consequences of the Aids’ pandemic in southern Africa.  Dangarembga has also been active in working to produce the work of other directors from the continent, a continent known perhaps more for its writers rather than its filmmakers.  “I think one of the problems has always been training which is absolutely crucial for the development of filmmakers.  But I think it is also important in making our films to employ our own creativity, our own techniques in order to tell our own stories.”

 

In recent years there has been an increasing number of African features gaining international recognition. Last year’s foreign language Oscar went to the South African feature Tsosti and a Zulu adaptation of Carmen has gone on to be an enormous hit on the international festival circuit.  Dangarembga looks set to continue this growing trend and brings a distinctly African voice to what has hitherto been seen as a western art form. 

 

 

 

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