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| The Story of Nehanda cast and crew with President Mnangagwa |
Masvingo Arts Club well known for productions
like Gonarezhou, Poor Cousins and Operation Restore Legacy among many others
continues to rock the airwaves with their latest production, The Story of
Nehanda, premiering on the national broadcaster ZBC-TV.
The Story of Nehanda film, which has
been on the cards since last year, was launched on ZBC-TV during Independence
Day (April 18).
The movie’s producer and script writer Charles
Munganasa said the film was a story about the people’s struggle, identity and
past.
“The Story of Nehanda film was produced
after the realization that Zimbabweans needed to be integrated with their
history.
“The
movie came after the government wanted to put a statue of Mbuya Nehanda at the
intersection of Samora Machel and Julius Nyerere, there were mixed feelings
among the citizens of Zimbabwe whether it was worth establishing the statue in
recognition of Mbuya Nehanda.
“As young film makers, we thought it
was important for us to tell Zimbabweans the story through a medium which is
understood with a lot of people,” said Munganasa.
The story of Zimbabwe started back from
the time of Mbuya Nehanda who was one of the pioneers of the First Chimurenga.
The film, which was produced by 3 different
film companies— Nelned pictures, Ngano Studios and Township pictures— was
written by Sydney Taivavashe and Rtd Major Special Matarirano.
Munganasa said that there was thorough research
which was done before the film was produced.
“We got information of Mbuya Nehanda
from National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean Archives and from
Chief Seke who is in charge of the land in which Mbuya Nehanda originated,”
said Munganasa.
He further elaborated on the challenges
which the crew faced during the pre-production of The Story of Nehanda.
“Our major challenges was the setting
of the film which was supposed to be set around the 1890s, casting of white
people, challenges to get costumes and among others,” said Munganasa.
The film was shot in Harare, Masvingo,
Domboshava, Nyanga and Mazowe, and was featured by Eunice Ratidzo Tava being
Mbuya Nehanda, Nobert Sakarombe and Anton Tongai among others.
