European Film Festival back in Harare on 27-30 October 2022

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The European Film Festival is back in Harare! After 2 years of the COVID pandemic, the 6th edition of the European Film Festival Zimbabwe will be hosted live at MMX. EuroFilmFestZW is a platform to share, promote and create exchange between African and European culture, focusing on Zimbabwean filmmakers.

For 4 days, 15 African and 12 European movies will be showcased in Harare in free of charge.

Much more than movies

This year’s edition celebrates the success of previous editions, and in particular on the wide range of activities. The festival is not only about screening movies in Harare and Bulawayo, it also includes input conferences, a masterclass, a short film competition, and a curated selection of African cinema.

Charlene Mangweni, Director, Producer, Actress and Radio Personality among other things, is one of the influential participants in the festival. Contrary to popular thinking, a film crew is not made of just the director, actors, cameraman and editors. From make-up artists, to script supervisors, to set designers and the characters, Charlene will go through some of the overlooked media jobs that need to be created and maintained to make the local industry more professional and combat rampant unemployment in Zimbabwe.

A talent incubator

There is a lot of artistic talent in Zimbabwe, especially in the film industry. Too often this talent remains unknown. The festival has come in to offer emerging filmmakers the opportunity to show their work on a wider scale.

 

The BIOSKOP Short Film Competition is a good example of a talent incubator.

  • 41 short films from emerging Zimbabwean talents, competing in 5 different categories: Best Narrative, Best Cinematography, Best Documentary, Best Sound and Best
  • A jury seasoned and renowned professionals: Kalai Barlow, Matthieu Eberhardt, Daniel Lasker, Sibongile Mlambo, Tongayi Chirisa
  • 5 winners:

Best Narrative – CHINGWA directed by Mordekai Beven Musona

Best Cinematography – LIFE OF THE EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL directed by Derrick Manieca

Best Documentary – BASKETRY IN BINGA directed by Prosper Kunyetu

Best Sound-Editing – EXODUS: A Journey to New Worlds directed by Danayi Madondo & Derrick Manieca

Best Diaspora – ERUPTION directed by Sinomtha Nduna

Film enthusiasts will be able to enjoy the winning shorts at the opening event on Thursday 5:30 pm at MMX.

Culture opens doors for greater understanding and cohesion between peoples.” said Jobst Von Kirchmann, Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Zimbabwe.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

The EUFF, it is two events, one in Bulawayo and one in Harare :

  • Bulawayo: 20-23 October – National Gallery in Bulawayo
  • Harare: 27-30 October – MMX 5, Maasdorp Ave, Alex Park

FIGURES

This is the 6th edition of the festival, created in 2017.

12 European films will be screened from: Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and European Union Delegation.

BIOSKOP Short Film Competition: This year 41 films from emerging Zimbabwean filmmakers competed under 5 categories (Best Narrative, Best Cinematography, Best Documentary, Best Sound, and Best Diaspora). Short Film Competition Judges were Kalai Barlow, Mattieu Eberhardt, Daniel Lasker, Sibongile Mlambo, Tongayi.

MASTERCLASS: a learning program focused on equipping filmmakers with professional solutions for high standard film production.

INPUT Sessions: A conference focused on the business side of film, hosted in Bulawayo and Harare, curated by Alex Gwaze

FILAMU of African short films: a selection of 10 Pan African short Films. This year’s showcase is curated by Nkosi Kwanele and Mercy Mangwana. The film selection features short films from Zimbabwe, Rwanda/Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Uganda, DRC, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter: @EuroFilmFestZW

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EuroFilmFestZW