Cinema of Zimbabwe

Cinema of Zimbabwe
No. of screens13 (2021) [1]
 • Per capita0.07 per 100,000 (2021) [1]

Zimbabwe has an active film culture that includes films made in Zimbabwe during its pre- and post-colonial periods. The country hosts the Zimbabwe International Film Festival as well as the International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF).[2] As of 2021, it is estimated around 20 local feature films are made annually.[1]

Economic crisis and political crisis have been features of the industry.[3] UNESCO described the industry as facing persistent challenges with funding, distribution and monetisation, as well as being constrained by a lack of technical skills.[1] A publication from the 1980s counted 14 cinemas in Zimbabwe's capital city, Harare,[4] while a 2021 report counted only 4 cinema's accounting for 13 cinematic screen in the entire country.[1] According to a 1998 report, only 15 percent of the population had been to a cinema.[5] European and American films have been made on location in Zimbabwe as well as Indian films. American films are popular in Zimbabwe but face restrictions limiting their distribution.[6]

Cinematic history

Great Britain's Colonial Film Unit was active in Zimbabwe.[7][8] Zimbabwe's post-colonial government has worked to sponsor film development, but changed this strategy after financial losses.[7][1] Germany helped fund a film training and production program.[9] In the 1980s, the Zimbabwean government launched a campaign to attract foreign productions to film on location.[1] Examples of films made around this time include King Solomon's Mines (1985), an American movie filmed outside Harare, and Cry Freedom (1987), a British-American film.

Tsitsi Dangarembga, Zimbabwean film director and founder of the International Images Film Festival for Women

In the 1990s, the American non-profit company Media for Development International played a major role in funding films until its departure in 2000. Films made in this era as described as high quality, message-driven films.[1] One film made in the era was Neria (1991), which has been described as "the film Zimbabwean fim to receive international acclaim."[10] Another is the romantic comedyYellow Card (2000). In 1998, Zimbabwe International Film Festival was founded.[1] In 2002, the International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF) was founded by Zimbabwean filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga.[11]

At the start of the 21st century, Nollywood films made their entrance into Zimbabwe and gained popularity, inspiring a new segment of Zimbabwe's film industry dubbed Zollywood.[1] This new generation of filmmakers, including Joe Njagu, started producing high yields of low-budget films. These films are characterised as tackling a wide variety of subjects and genres and generally having a contained local impact Examples include drama films Something Nice from London (2015) and Kushata Kwemoyo (2018). In 2014, the Zimbabwe Film Industry Development Platform (ZFIDP) was founded, which is a membership based structure organised by film practitioners.[1]

The 2017 romantic comedy Cook Off won several awards at the Zimbabwe International Film Festival as well as National Arts Merit Awards and had several screenings at international film festivals.[12] It was consequently picked up by Netflix in 2020, becoming the first Zimbabwean film to do so.[10][13][14]

Notable figures

Zimbabwean directors include Tsitsi Dangarembga, Rumbi Katedza, Roger Hawkins, Godwin Mawuru, Michael Raeburn, Farai Sevenzo, Ingrid Sinclair, Sydney Taivavashe, and Edwina Spicer.

Zimbabwean actors include Munya Chidzonga, Tongayi Chirisa, Adam Croasdell, John Indi, Dominic Kanaventi, Edgar Langeveldt, Tawanda Manyimo, l Cont Mhlanga and Lucian Msamati. Zimbabwean actresses include Chipo Chung, Carole Gray, Kubi Indi, and Sibongile Mlambo.

Keith Shiri is a Zimbabwean film curator.

Notable films

Films from Rhodesia:

Films filmed in and from Zimbabwe include:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 The African film Industry: trends, challenges and opportunities for growth. UNESCO. 2021. pp. 255–259. ISBN 978-92-3-100470-4.
  2. ↑ "ZIFF embrace African films". NewsDay. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Katrina Daly (September 22, 2013). Zimbabwe's Cinematic Arts: Language, Power, Identity. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253006462 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "Africa Calls Handbook of Zimbabwe". Roblaw Pub. – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ Waldahl, Ragnar (September 22, 1998). Perspectives on media, culture and democracy in Zimbabwe. Dept. of Media and Communication, University of Oslo. ISBN 9788257061050 – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ McCrea, Barbara; Pinchuck, Tony (September 22, 1996). Zimbabwe and Botswana: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781858281865 – via Google Books.
  7. 1 2 Owomoyela, Oyekan (September 22, 2002). Culture and Customs of Zimbabwe. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313315831 – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ Burns, James McDonald (September 23, 2002). Flickering Shadows: Cinema and Identity in Colonial Zimbabwe. Ohio University Press. ISBN 9780896802247 – via Google Books.
  9. ↑ Diawara, Manthia (September 22, 1992). African Cinema: Politics & Culture. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253207074 – via Google Books.
  10. 1 2 "Zimbabwe's Cook Off: How an $8,000 romcom made it to Netflix". www.bbc.com. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
  11. ↑ Piotrowska, Agnieszka (2016). Black and White: Cinema, politics and the arts in Zimbabwe. Florence: Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-59541-0.
  12. ↑ "Local film goes to Durban festival – herald". 2026-06-19. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
  13. ↑ "Zimbabwe: 'Cook Off' in Milestone Netflix Deal". allAfrica.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
  14. 1 2 France-Presse, Agence (2020-05-31). "Cook Off, the no-budget romcom that became the first Zimbabwean film on Netflix". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
  15. ↑ Harper, Graeme; Rayner, Jonathan; Rayner, Jonathan R. (September 22, 2010). Cinema and Landscape. Intellect Books. ISBN 9781841503097 – via Google Books.
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