A busy Africa Day weekend for Zimbabwean film lovers

In a groundbreaking development for Zimbabwean film, two productions are set to premiere within 24 hours of each other at three venues across Harare during the Africa Day weekend.

Kicking off on Friday, May 24th, is Tafadzwa Ranganai’s “Bako,” a horror thriller set in the depths of an abandoned, mystical gold mine. The Jason Mphepo Little Theater, known for hosting live performances, will serve as the venue for this highly anticipated premiere. Attendees can look forward to a red carpet experience and an after-party celebrating the producer-director’s 40th birthday. Advance tickets are available for $10.

The following day, Saturday, May 25th, Billy Kabasa and Alex Robbins will unveil their latest film, “FOCUS,” at two locations in Harare. A red carpet premiere will be held at Ster-Kinekor Sam Levy Village, while a standard screening will take place simultaneously at Ster-Kinekor Joina City. Admission ranges from $10 for the Joina City screening to $20-30 for the Sam Levy red carpet event. This ambitious move by the producers could set a new standard for the local box office if successful.

“FOCUS” is an emotionally charged story exploring the worlds of sex and drugs. Notably, one of its lead actors, Paul Zibgowa, also stars in “Bako,” making this a memorable weekend for him and for every lover of local cinema.

Africa Day Zimbabwe

Elias Muonde

Elias M Muonde is a Writer, Scriptwriter, film Director and Journalist based in Harare. His writing has been published in a handful of anthologies as well as in The Standard Newspaper, The NewsHawks, various international journals, blogs, and online platforms. He's also a Human Interest correspondent with My Afrika Magazine, but often happily encroaches to hard beats like politics and business. A film enthusiast, Muonde has worked on several film projects in different capacities: from production management to assistant directing. He also wrote over a hundred episodes of radio drama aired on Radio Zimbabwe , TV series for independent producers and popular satirical shows under Magamba TV. When not writing or reading, Muonde spends his life in the garden helping a swathes of colourful geraniums, hibiscus and roses open up their buds to the sun and bloom.