ORGANISERS of the Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust (ZIFFT) said the Smartphone Short Film Competition, launched two months ago, have unearthed rich untapped filmmaking talent among youths from across the country.
Since the competition’s launch on April 12, 46 films have been submitted from youths across the country with the adjudication process set to end on July 29 and the awards ceremony slated for July 12 at Alliance Française in Harare.
ZIFFT executive director Nigel Munyati said the competition, a brainchild of the trust and Alliance Française, had proved that the future of Zimbabwe’s film industry was bright.
“The just-ended Smartphone Short Film Competition has proved beyond doubt that there is a bright light at the end of the Zimbabwe film industry tunnel. It unearthed untapped talent from aspiring filmmakers from all corners of the country,” he said.
“It’s a great success in that we have discovered latent filmmaking talent that has been dormant. We believe that as time progresses more youth will appreciate the freedom of speech that they now have and express themselves even more in future.”
The jury is comprised of renowned filmmakers Rumbi Katedza (Harare), Priscilla Sithole (Bulawayo), Nigel Ndlovu (Bulawayo) and Igi Matope (Mutare) as well as radio personality Patience Phiri (Skyz Metro), Prudence Chingosho from ELEVATE and Franck Chabasseur from the Alliance Française Harare.
“The films will be judged on the basis of their interpretation of the theme Being Zimbabwean, creativity and the technical qualities of such as camera, sound and editing,” Munyati said.
Jurors will first select the 10 best films, from which the top three will be awarded prizes of $500, $300 and $200 respectively.
The public will be invited to vote for the People’s Choice Award from the 10 films on ZIFFT’s Facebook page and the winning film will get $100. All winners will be announced on various social media platforms. - NewsDay
