Cinematic Fact and the Film Services Industry: Production Contexts and Contexts of Production in Zimbabwe (1980-2016)

Cinematic Fact and the Film Services Industry: Production Contexts and Contexts of Production in Zimbabwe (1980-2016) By Oswelled Ureke June 2016 Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Centre for Communication, Media and Society, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban i Cinematic Fact and the Film Services industry: Production Contexts and Contexts of Production in Zimbabwe (1980-2016). DECLARATION I, Oswelled Ureke, declare that: This doctoral thesis is my original research undertaken at CCMS under the supervision of Prof. Ruth Teer Tomaselli. The thesis has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. All the information contained in this thesis, including pictures and tables are my original work, and where this is an exception, the sources are duly acknowledged. Student: Oswelled Ureke (213573242) 27 March 2017 Signature Date Supervisor: Prof. Ruth Teer Tomaselli ____________________ ____________________ Signature Date ii DEDICATION Dedicated to those trying to produce and understand film in Zimbabwe iii Cinematic Fact and the Film Services industry: Production Contexts and Contexts of Production in Zimbabwe (1980-2016). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As with all endeavours on this earth, I thank God for the gift of life and a destiny that has taken me thus far. It all started with my late parents, Boas and Claris who nurtured me and instilled in me the desire to pursue knowledge, in whatever form, from whatever source. I would like to acknowledge my supervisor, Prof. Ruth Teer Tomaselli and the entire CCMS staff for their support and advice throughout the period of my enrolment at UKZN. Prof. Emeritus Keyan Tomaselli invested a lot of time in supervising this thesis during his time at UKZN. Even after transferring to the University of Johannesburg, he selflessly continued to offer academic and professional advice. I am greatly indebted. Thank you to Prof. Nyasha Mboti, for the useful advice in the formative stages of this thesis. My family: Rumbidzai my wife and children Claire and Nyasha for the time I deprived them of a companion and father respectively in my pursuit of academic excellence. I am also indebted to the following individuals and institutions: Midlands State University for allowing me to pursue studies while on full-time employment and funding my travel and subsistence at the beginning of the study; The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, George Charamba for providing requisite documentation in the fulfillment of ethical requirements of my study, and for participating in the research; and Takunda Maodza, for providing important contact details and recording the permanent secretary’s interview on my behalf; National Arts Council of Zimbabwe Director Elvas Mari for support documentation and also participating in the study; Farai Mpfunya of the Culture Fund, for valuable reading materials and participation in the study; All the filmmakers and participants who took part in the study: Stephen Chigorimbo, Conti Mhlanga, Angeline Dimingo, Tawanda Gunda Mupengo, Gamu Tawengwa, John Riber, Daves Guzha, iv Terrence Mapondera, Sekuru Mungate, Dorothy Meck, Nocks Chatiza, Aaron Chiundura Moyo; The late Shepherd Poruwani and Media for Development Trust for archival film resources; Colleagues in the Department of Media and Society Studies, particularly Lyton Ncube and Albert Chibuwe for their critical reviews, colleagues in ‘arms’ Musara Lubombo, Basil Hamusokwe and family, Clever Chirume and Kemist Shumba for the company and comradeship in the academic battlefield. Prof. Nhamo. A. Mhiripiri for important reading materials and encouragement; My long time colleagues Roger Zowa, Tonderai Makaniwa and Munashe Mudombi for availing some useful information and contacts, Learnmore Damiano and Taurai Chikuku for helping, whenever called upon; My sisters Mercy and Fortunate for being there whenever; All friends and relatives for their support, even when they were not aware. Last but not least, thanks to Willy and Gabrielle Memper for introducing me to the world of TV, film and video, and for planting the seed that germinated this thesis Arigato gozaimasu v Cinematic Fact and the Film Services industry: Production Contexts and Contexts of Production in Zimbabwe (1980-2016). ABSTRACT The thesis is an exploration of the film services industry in Zimbabwe. It attempts to explore the nature of skills, infrastructure and organisational networks exploited in the production of film and video in Zimbabwe. The study is situated within film services (Goldsmith and O’Regan, 2005; Goldsmith et al, 2010) and political economy frameworks which acknowledge and critique the roles of multiple players and services in the film production value chain. The study proposes and applies a holistic cinematic-fact analysis of the film industry’s components rather than the content or the filmic fact (Stam et al, 1992). Four purposively selected films, King Solomon’s Mines, Everyone’s Child, Tanyaradzwa and Sinners? are analysed to establish the composition of film services employed in their production. The different socio-economic contexts in which the films were created supposedly had an influence on the film services and ultimately, on the aesthetic norms and themes of the narratives. The study is also informed by political and shadow economy theories, attempting to link socio-economic and political circumstances to the content of the films. Data for the study was collected using mainly the interview method as well as collection of archival materials. Filmmakers purposively sampled for their roles in the four productions were interviewed about their experiences on the film sets. Policy-makers with a bearing on the functioning of the film industry were also selected, either purposively or through snowball sampling, and interviewed to provide qualitative data about the nature of the film services industry in Zimbabwe. Thematic analysis and hermeneutics of interpretation were used to analyse the data. The study found out that film production in Zimbabwe, has transformed from an era of being modelled as a formal enterprise with clear, specialised roles to one that is constituted as a shadow economy (Lobato, 2012) which has no clear structures and does not depend on specialised film services. The ‘industry’ now uses a ‘guesswork’ approach to making film. This has had a net effect of creating a new genre of film whose building blocks are not traditionally associated with the classical film medium. This genre, dubbed the drasofi (dramma, soapie, film) is a genre of convenience borne out of the difficult circumstances that filmmakers and other enterprises operate under in Zimbabwe. Though the typical film produced in this set-up may be of poor aesthetic quality, it is one borne out of a truly indigenous and artistic endeavour; a trashy but auterist narrative. vi Key words: film services, film production, shadow economy, Zimbabwe, drasofi, cinematic fact, value chain, context vii Cinematic Fact and the Film Services industry: Production Contexts and Contexts of Production in Zimbabwe (1980-2016). TABLE OF CONTENTS CINEMATIC FACT AND THE FILM SERVICES INDUSTRY: PRODUCTION CONTEXTS AND CONTEXTS OF PRODUCTION IN ZIMBABWE (1980-2016) I DECLARATION II DEDICATION III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IV ABSTRACT VI TABLE OF CONTENTS VIII LIST OF ACRONYMS XI LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES XVI INTRODUCTION 1 HOW IT ALL BEGAN 1 ABOUT THE STUDY 2 FILM OR VIDEO? 4 FOCUS AND STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY 4 CONCLUSION 7 CHAPTER ONE: 8 CONTEXTUALISING FILM IN ZIMBABWE 8 FILM IN ZIMBABWE: POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND HISTORICAL CONTEXTS 10 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 17 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 18 CONSTITUTING THE FILM SAMPLE. A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH 18 KING SOLOMON’S MINES 20 EVERYONE’S CHILD 21 TANYARADZWA 22 SINNERS? 23 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 23 SCOPE AND LOCATION OF STUDY 25 CONCLUSION 25 CHAPTER TWO: 27 viii GLOBAL, AFRICAN AND ZIMBABWEAN FILM ‘INDUSTRIES’: 27 FILMIC AND CINEMATIC FACT 27 GLOBAL HOLLYWOOD AND THE ‘HOLLYWOODISATION’ OF FILM INDUSTRIES 28 RETHINKING ‘AFRICAN FILM/CINEMA’: CONTEXTS OF PRODUCTION 33 FILMMAKING IN THE AFRICAN CONTEXT 37 TRACING THE MARGINS OF ‘INDUSTRY’ ON THE CONTINENT 40 APPROPRIATING NOLLYWOOD 47 FROM RHODESIA TO ZIMBABWE: A HISTORY OF FILM PRODUCTION AND USE 49 FILM PRODUCTION IN POST-COLONIAL ZIMBABWE: THE EARLY YEARS 56 THE ERA OF DONOR FUNDED FILM PRODUCTION IN ZIMBABWE 58 THE POST-2000 SHORT FILMS AND OTHER INITIATIVES 62 CONCLUSION 67 CHAPTER THREE: 69 THEORISING ZIMBABWEAN FILM PRODUCTION: 69 INTERSECTIONS OF ECONOMY AND IDEOLOGY 69 THE “TYPICAL FILM” AND ZIMBABWE’S FILM VALUE SYSTEM 71 FILM SERVICES, FILM FRIENDLINESS AND THE PRODUCTION CONTEXT IN ZIMBABWE 76 THE SHADOW ECONOMY OF FILM PRODUCTION 82 THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF FILM PRODUCTION 84 CONCLUSION 87 CHAPTER FOUR: 89 RESEARCH METHODS AND METHODOLOGY 89 SELF-REFLEXIVITY, EXPERIENCE AND ENCOUNTERS WITH ‘DATA’. 90 RESEARCH PARADIGM, ONTOLOGY AND EPISTEMOLOGY 93 MULTIPLE CASE STUDY DESIGN AND THE LOGIC OF REPLICATION 95 SAMPLE DESCRIPTION AND JUSTIFICATION 99 SEMI-STRUCTURED EXPERT INTERVIEWS 100 ARCHIVAL RESEARCH AND NEW FILM HISTORY 102 THEMATIC ANALYSIS AND HERMENEUTICS OF INTERPRETATION 106 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 109 CONCLUSION 112 CHAPTER FIVE: 113 CINEMATIC FACT, AESTHETIC NORMS 113 AND KEY SKILLS IN FILM PRODUCTION 113 KEY SKILLS, ORGANISATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AND INTERMEDIATE INPUTS IN THE SPECIFIC FILMS: PRODUCTION CONTEXTS 113 KING SOLOMON’S MINES AND THE SPECIAL EFFECTS BOON 121 EVERYONE’S CHILD AND

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