In the 1960s, Africa was collectively seized with decolonization, lobbying against apartheid and gaining political independence under the aegis of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU).
We do see not far, nor do we learn much. Lack of vision says it’s okay to fight for waitress and gardener jobs in a continent that we call home. Not that there is anything wrong with these jobs it’s just that they should be the alternative and not the norm. Lack of vision replaces failing systems and flawed recipes with foreigners. It limits our ability to identify stumbling blocks so we keep falling over in the same place. Think about this for a minute:
True to the belief amongst many that everything is big and better in South Africa, many artists have chosen to cross the border into this land of imagined milk and honey. Some have made it, some are still trying and some can no longer fathom coming back home empty handed. To artists, the Mzansi magic seems to be working its way and they are not complaining. The likes of Buffalo Soldier, Shingirai Mau Mau, Leeroy Gopal, Arnold Chirisa have made their mark in South Africa.
The Zimbabwe film industry, is there movement, is there development do we still have a pulse?
More and more I am finding myself in frustrating situations and I ask myself if I am the only one experiencing this or I should just accept that it is the way the cookie crumbles. Take for instance, walking into a grocery shop and then waiting in a long queue to pay for your groceries. Never mind the long queues due to the few till operators, and the hostile reception at the tills. I have to greet the till operator who is already frustrated from serving the long queues and then while she is serving me, she is busy chatting away with her supervisor which I find rude! Woo sa!
Ironically the theme for this years Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) was Whats Next? After the festival that is the very question that stuck in my mind. What is next with HIFA because they have certainly come to a cross roads. I have been going to HIFA since 2008 and I have been impressed by the festival, always finding an excuse to be present each year. Planned my meetings to coincide with the festival. But after all these years its becoming a bit monotonous.
I began my hobby as a writer in high school. My earliest attempts were mostly characterized by religious musings and samples of popular American artists. For example, I would sample R. Kelly's Snake, to deliver a Christian message using his hooks and beat. If I wasn’t writing literature essays in class, I’d be sitting up front in class distracting my teacher - Lee Riley. To my surprise, this pastime transformed into an enduring pursuit once my literature teacher insisted on having my essays recited to the rest of the class.
In the quest to find out what Zimbabwean 'yute' is up to and how it is contributing to the socio-political landscape, ZimboSA caught up with two of the hottest music groups on the Zimbabwean scene, then in town[Jozi] for a gig. Mafriq and Xtra Large are two of the groups that performed at the ZimboSA concert held late last year in Jo'burg where they shared a stage with the likes of Sani Makhalima, Shingi Mau Mau and the likes of Zimbabwean-originating and South Africa based Zubs a.k.a The Last Letta.
POVO: I am here with Aura at the Crowne Plaza for POVO, Aura how are you doing?
AURA: I am great thanks.
POVO: Can you give us a brief background about Aura?
AURA: I was born Aura, which is also my stage name. Born and bred in Harare, Gweru, I did my upper six at Johannesburg’s British International College before proceeding to the AFDA film school. I come from a small family of two children and am now the bread winner in my family.
Emerging writer/director Karien Cherry is raising the bar for student filmmakers as she casts the spotlight on the familiar reality of the Zimbabwean refugee influx. She talks to Cecile Murray-Louw about why her Honours year shortfilm, I Am Abel, is not just another barefoot-over-the-border account.
