Winner, Sembene Ousmane Award

Zanzibar International Film Festival

Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

July 2010

Shungu is a compelling narrative of the strategies ordinary people use to survive in Zimbabwe today. Lyrically photographed, the filmmaker takes us on a personal journey offering a rare, intimate insight as the country experiences political turmoil, economic meltdown and health care collapse. We are drawn into the lives of a 30-something metalsmith and opposition supporter running his small business while facing political violence, a middle-aged widow who is a staunch government supporter trying to run a farm she took over from a white farmer, a doctor working amid health care collapse while trying to maintain her middle-class lifestyle. Interwoven throughout is the tumultuous political power struggle and eventual reconciliation between President Robert Mugabe, and his nemesis opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. The film gives voice to the hopes and challenges of ordinary people, revealing life under one of Africa’s last “strongmen,” as Zimbabwe undergoes profound change.

© Gandanga Media LLC, 2009