The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube Leisure Correspondent
UNITED States-based film director, Sanele Sibanda, believes passion among local film practitioners can play a critical role in uplifting the state of the industry in the country. Sibanda, whose film, The Bicycle Thief premiered a fortnight ago, said there were many dedicated and passionate film practitioners who could use their love for the genre to make inroads and produce films of acclaim.
In an interview following the premiere of The Bicycle Thief, Sibanda said during the shooting of the movie he came across enthusiastic cast and crew members who had the talent and enthusiasm to take the local film industry higher.
He said money would always be an issue anywhere and it would be better to focus on the elements that people had access to and try to circumvent the funding issue.
“When you are passionate about something, you will give anything to ensure it happens. I think what is critical is networking and creating relationships as means of having access to various resources that would assist one in achieving their aims,” said Sibanda.
“When producing a film be realistic about what you can do and what you cannot and limit yourself to the achievable. If you plan a scene on a farm, you should have someone who can offer you a farm to use for free or at a nominal fee. Scripting an action packed movie with effects that will cost more to produce will obviously hamper your efforts.”
He said he had seen that local actors seemed to focus more on money as the end product of their work instead of looking at the bigger picture of networking and creating lasting relationships.
“I also started small working for nothing but I used my people skills to build relationships and when it comes to producing my own films I know I can call on several people, who would assist me for free.
“I think local film practitioners should look at the bigger picture and seek exposure otherwise they will lock themselves out of good opportunities with the blinkered thinking of always seeing money ahead of everything. You can get discovered doing little for nothing and it’s what we call deferred payment,” said Sibanda.
He said although lack of resources was the downfall of the local movie industry, film practitioners seemed ready for the big break as they showed they had the ability to handle any projects.
The former George Silundika High School pupil said he hoped the movie would prove an inspiration to other film makers and also to people who watch.
Sibanda said the issue of song rights delayed the completion of the film as they sought permission to use certain songs in the movie.
“Having to cut down the huge footage that we recorded also came into play as we had to be meticulous when we were editing close to 50 hours of footage and reducing that to about a two-hour film.
“However, I realised time was flying and I had received news that some of the people we worked with in the film, Simon Banda and Alex Mafu had passed on without seeing their work and for me it wasn’t a good thing hence I made a decision to hasten the process.
“I was also compelled by the fact that I am a Jehovah’s Witness and I have to attend the upcoming convention and felt the movie could be released at the same time,” he said.
Sibanda said while he had envisaged a low budget movie the costs ballooned to between $200 000 and $250 000 which he attributed to delays they experienced.
“Although I was working with a lot of ‘virgins’ in terms of the film industry, we experienced few challenges as the cast and crew showed a lot of passion and eagerness to learn.
“They showed character and wanted to bring honour to their city with good work that would receive acclaim,” he added.
Sibanda said after showing the movie locally, he is aiming at taking it to festivals across the globe and hoped they would be able to attract international distributors.
“We are targeting reputable film festivals such as the Cannes and Sudance among others whom we hope can recognise our efforts. I think the theme is universal and appeals to a wide variety of people. It is the story of a young boy who conquers despite the odds being staked against him at every turn.
“Connecting with the right distributor would also be critical because as Culture Productions we do not have a wide distribution network but we want the movie to reach every potential audience,” he said.
Sibanda said they had come up with a spelling competition for schools in rural Matabeleland as a way of stimulating interest in education among pupils in schools located in the provinces.
“I am aware of the low pass rates in Matabeleland and as someone who comes from the area I would like to assist in whatever way I can and we felt coming up with various prizes would act as a stimulant in the competition. We have on offer various prizes such as ipads and other electronic gadgets to be won by participating pupils,” he said.
