Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa (ICAPA) Trust Projects Coordinator Angeline Madyara
By Godwin Makoho
The story of women will take centre stage from this Tuesday, November 28 as the International Images Film Festival (IIFF) For Women roars into life.
Running under the theme “Women of Hope”, this year’s festivals will see a total of thirty eight films from different countries being screened to the public in Harare and Bulawayo from 28 November to 10 December.
The films to be showcased have women playing main roles either as directors, writers, or in the sets, this done to exalt the milestone achievements by women while dislodging some stereotypes and escalating interventions to ameliorate their challenges.
The festival initiative by award winning filmmaker, author and playwriter, Tsitsi Dangarembga focuses on building institutions and platforms that reinforce women’s dignity and self-respect.
In Harare, the films will be screened at Batanai Gardens in the CBD, Alliance Française in Eastlea and Dzivarasekwa 1 Community Hall while in Bulawayo they will be screened at the National Arts Gallery.
Entry for the festival is absolutely free while attendants of the Awards Ceremony on December 2 in Harare will pay a nominal entrance fee.
The festival kicks off in Harare with the screening of “NOME”, a hundred and seventeen minutes long film which tells the story of a young man who joins a freedom movement to free his country and people from tyranny. The film presents a powerful new perspective on African realities.
The other films to be screened include, Senegalese production “Xale” (2022), directed by Moussa Sene Absa, “Before, Now and Then”, Indonesia (2020) directed by Kamila Andini, “The Last Queen” Algeria (2022) directed by Adila Bendimerad and Damien Ounourias, among others. Zimbabwe has one film, “The Outsider” directed by Dereck Nziyakwi.
The event will wrap up with presentation of awards on December 10 in different categories that include Best Script, Best Cinematography, Best Depiction of a Woman, Best film and Best Documentary. The Zimbabwean competition will have the Best Zimbabwe Film category.
Speaking at a presser in Harare, Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa (ICAPA) Trust Projects Coordinator Angeline Madyara decried the challenges faced by females in the film industry.
“Women are very good in expressing what they go through in life through story telling but they do not platforms and adequate training on how to write those stories to be used in the film industry.
“Women are lacking support and sponsorship from the corporate world which result in poor projects or failure to get into film industry because it needs a lot of money,” said Madyara.
According to Madyara, there was a low turnout of Zimbabwe female filmmakers, with only two females submitting their films for this year’s festival. However, one of them failed to meet the expected standards, leaving only one.
Madyara invited people to come in their numbers as there will be opportunities to interface, network and discuss pertinent issues around women. She shaded light on the festival.
“This festival is an opportunity for engaging with women’s experiences and issues, while also elucidating the female perspective to the male community, fostering a climate of empathy, comprehension and tolerance,” she explained.
Discussions on issues around gender based violence will also be given space as the festival coincides with sixteen days of activism against Gender Based Violence.
The IIFF is one of the most unique festivals in the world in that it focuses on films directed by women. Another similar event is found in Canada where screening of films directed by women takes place.
The IIFF was founded in 2002 by Tsitsi Dangarembga with a mission to increase engagement in communities with issues of gender equality through providing communities with alternative narratives on gender.
The positive discourse of IIFF films also focuses on doing away with practices that no longer serve and empower women.