The Sunday News
Ntombiyolwandle Ndlovu, Sunday Leisure Reporter
THEIR first ever movie, Qiniso, was rubbished as a waste of time, money and energy but the people behind that production are adamant that the motion picture is the best thing to have come out of Bulawayo’s film industry.
In February there was a sustained hype before the launch of Qiniso at Bulawayo Centre’s Rainbow Theatre, which saw the event being well attended, but unfortunately those who attended were left disappointed after the movie turned out to be a damp squib.
Before they had even watched it, journalists from different media houses waxed lyrically about Qiniso. After it hit the big screen the same journalists took out their knives and butchered the movie. Social media buzz described it as a sub-standard production with sub-standard actors that lacked direction and theme. The story line was not clear and the picture quality was poor. To add salt to the deep wound, Qiniso was later rejected by the organisers of the Zimbabwe International Film Festival (ZIFF), who dismissed it as sub-standard.
However, spokesperson of Qiniso, Philani Nyoni still believes that all the criticism they have received was ill-advised and unwarranted.
“I would like to say that we did a good job on the film, if we had not done well people would not be talking about our film production. People are just talking and making baseless empty lies about the film. What are these people comparing it with when they say it’s a bad film?” he said.
Denying that they did a shoddy job, Nyoni claims that the movie house where Qiniso was launched was not the ideal place as it was not well-ventilated. In his eyes, the audience was hot and bothered and they took it out on them.
“We do take responsibility for the conditions at the theatre as it was very hot inside but other than that, people are just telling outright lies about the film being bad,” said Nyoni.
Nyoni also bemoaned the lack of a good film industry in Zimbabwe and thinks that it contributed to the poor production of Qiniso.
“Considering that there is no formal training for film or that the structures are as good as dead, I say that we did a good job.
This is because we managed to be nominated for the National Arts Merit Awards (Nama) with just one trained actress from the film,” said Nyoni.
Despite all the negativity they faced because of the movie, Nyoni said they are already working on short films they hope to release soon.
“Qiniso is our first feature film as a production. After Qiniso we did not produce any films though we are now working on short films that will be coming out soon. Some of the films will be showcased on Jane the Ghost Fashion show,” he said.
