The Sunday News
“SHE is one African actress who will go far because she takes acting seriously. She is easy to coach because she loves her work. I can’t wait to see her on set,” says Canadian based Moses Matanda, the producer of Chinhoyi 7. The young woman Matanda is describing is not your typical push-over actress. She loves what she does and has done it so well over the years. Her name is Charlene Mangweni.
The recent BES graduate, who was the best student in print media and the best student post attachment in electronic media, has previously starred on the 2010 production Withered Petals, which has since opened doors for her, the recent being the landing of this role on Chinhoyi 7.
Describing the production, which will be shot sometime in August, Matanda said Chinhoyi 7 was a movie aimed at correcting the misconceptions that littered the history of Zimbabwe.
“It’s a movie that shows why black Zimbabweans took arms and fought the Chimurenga war. It’s a movie I dedicate to all war veterans who are the foundation of our freedom. It’s a non-partisan movie, a non-regional one. This movie is for all Zimbabweans and it will make us all Zimbabweans stand together as one, knowing where we came from,” he said.
Mangweni broke into television last year when she got an opportunity to present ZTV-2’s health programme, 37 Degrees and was recently seen anchoring news shows during the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. She has also over the years done narration work for local companies and organisations.
“I am ecstatic. We do not have many films that tell the Zimbabwean story and I feel it’s an awesome and humbling opportunity to be part of such a production. This is an international platform for me and it is also likely to open new doors for me,” she said.
Charlene fell in love with television and the screen when she was about four or five years. She said she would repeat the adverts and mimic the characters that she saw. Her creative urge has set her as a standard bar among her peers.
The film has been said to have acquired state of the art equipment to compete with Hollywood standards. It will also feature other world renowned actors from the US, UK, Canada, Denmark and Romania.
The Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, ZBC Holdings, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Canada, Florence Chideya and the Zimbabwe Defence Forces have helped in facilitating the preparations.
