filmmaker - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Zambia’s arts and creative sector is thriving

ZAMBIA’S recent unveiling of a National Arts and Revised Film Policy is evidence of the growing interest in increasing investment and fostering the growth of the arts and creative sector. Besides committing to invest close to US$100 million in the arts and film sector between 2024 and 2028, the policy commits to improving artists' welfare in a bid to promote talent by leveraging public-private partnerships. Munya Chidzonga, a Harare-based filmmaker and actor, believes the new policy “will certainly add value to the fiscus but, more importantly, to culture, and the preservation of national heritage.” Just like in many countries on…

Jul

2023

By IRENE KALULU, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Tsitsi Dangarembaga speaks

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

TSITSI Dangarembga is a Zimbabwean playwright, filmmaker and award-winning novelist who is vocal about freedom of expression and human rights. In 2020, she was arrested and later convicted by a Zimbabwean court for inciting violence after carrying out a march calling for political reforms. The charge was later overturned. Her first book, "Nervous Conditions" earned her the Commonwealth Writers Prize, with the New York Times calling it one of the 20th century's most significant works of African literature. Other works include "This Mournable Body", "The Book of Not", and most recently, a book of essays titled "Black and Female". This…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Ousmane Sembène @ 100: ‘Father of African cinema’

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

1 January 2023 marked the centenary of the birth of Ousmane Sembène, the Senegalese novelist and filmmaker hailed as the “father of African cinema”. Over the course of five decades, Sembène published 10 books and directed 12 films across three distinct periods. He has been celebrated for his beautifully crafted political works, which range in style from the psychological realism of Black Girl in 1966 to the biting satire of Xala (The Curse) in 1974. Author DAVID MURPHY, Professor of French and Postcolonial Studies, University of Strathclyde Since his death in 2007, Sembène’s status as a pioneer has been further…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

Loving tributes as Shona Ferguson is laid to rest

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER THE life and times of actor and filmmaker Shona Ferguson, who died recently due to COVID-19 complications were celebrated in a special and emotional way as he was laid to rest in Johannesburg today. Ferguson’s widow Connie, their children, brothers and colleagues in the film industry paid warm tributes to him, describing him as a loving father, a dedicated family man. His daughter Lesedi Masilo-Ferguson recalled the love and laughter that Ferguson shared with her and the family. “You could either hear or smell him. We lost a very special piece of our heart …To the original…