KINGSTONE ZIMUNYA
AFTER receiving a NAMA nomination at his first attempt, filmmaker Jabu Mudzvova's star continues to rise. His debut short film A Few Dollars More has received an official selection at the upcoming African Indigenous Language Film Festival 2024.
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Inspired by a Twitter thread, the film is an apt representation of the ‘hustle culture’ that has come to dominate the reality of most Zimbabweans.
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| Official poster for A Few Dollars More |
In just fourteen minutes, A Few Dollars More captures all too relatable realities of unemployment, transport woes, currency devaluation, and how hustle culture affects personal relationships and oneself. It also goes to show the creativity Zimbabweans have shown in the face of never-ending adversity.
The film features the multi-talented Aneunhu Gwatidzo as the main character, Bhule; and Gracia Bvute as Venus. Tendai Chimonya, Prince Table, Sungano Katsumbe, Gary Bandah, Nigel Guni, Thobile Mawerera and Cynthia Gauye also feature in the film.
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| Jabu Mudzvova - writer and director of A Few Dollars More |
Mudzvova wrote and directed the film, while Nyasha Ruzvidzo was responsible for the Editing and Sound.
Mudzvova made A Few Dollars More as part of the 2023 cohort of the ALZ Film Fellowship, a joint initiative between Magamba Network and Accountability Lab Zimbabwe. It is an annual fellowship for young filmmakers in Zimbabwe who have an interest in social justice and accountability stories.
The film premiered at the Bokola Film Festival in December 2023, before being made available on the Film Fellowship’s Youtube channel.
It earned a nomination at the 22nd edition of the National Art Merit Awards (NAMA) in the Outstanding Screen Production (Short Length Film) category. Although it was Derrick Manieca’s Daughter of the Soil that ended up scooping the award, the nomination itself is a testament to Mudzvova’s sheer brilliance and potential as a filmmaker.
Speaking to ZimSphere just after the announcement, Jabu Mudzvova felt humbled that his first offering is already crossing borders, something he had envisioned when he started his filmmaking journey.
"It's been a big dream of mine to direct a film and get it into a film festival, so I'm quite honoured that A Few Dollars More is getting a festival run now and can be seen in different parts of the world. Big thanks to my cast and crew, as well as Magamba for producing and the ALZ Film Fellowship for giving me the chance," he said.
Domiciled in Nigeria, second edition of The African Indigenous Language Film Festival is scheduled for September 2024.
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| Scenes at the 2023 edition of the African Indigenous Language Film Festival |
The sole focus of the festival is films that are in African Indigenous languages; although they must be subtitled in either the following languages English, French or Portuguese.
The festival offers a platform for filmmakers to highlight their work and contribute to the promotion of Africa’s diverse linguistic landscape. Through its efforts, the hope is that African audiences can recognize the diverse cultural heritage embedded in Indigenous languages.
You can watch A Few Dollars More here:
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