Amanda Ranganawa scoops prestigious ZNCC Award

Multi-talented filmmaker Amanda “Mandy” Ranganawa has been conferred with the prestigious ZNCC Manicaland Women In Enterprise Award (Women In Arts Category). Administered by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) , the awards seek to honour and recognize business excellence, entrepreneurship and distinguished leadership exhibited by women-run enterprises or organisations in the province.

The ceremony, held at the Holiday Inn hotel in the scenic city of Mutare on Friday the 6th, ran under the theme, “Transforming Economic Realities into Market Opportunities“. Minister of Women Affairs, Community, and Small and Medium Enterprises, Honourable Monica Mutsvangwa, was the illustrious guest of honour at the glamorous evening event.

Speaking to MyAfrika Magazine after winning the award, Ranganawa expressed excitement and gratitude. She believes her hard work and consistency paid off.

“I’m ecstatic. I did not expect it. I just knew that I worked hard last year and this year. I did a lot of film projects that pushed Mutare forward on the Zimbabwean film landscape. These films helped to promote many local businesses and provided vital employment for many artists. Winning this award is confirmation that I have been doing something right all these years. Taking my film craft as a business has finally rewarded,” she said.

In the 2022 edition of the awards, the innovative filmmaker came out as a runner-up to gospel songstress, Dorcas Moyo. She believes her win is not only for her, but also a shared victory for the entire film industry. “This year the film industry came blazing hot. We made headlines after headlines,” she gushed.

Ranganawa is steadily making a name for herself on the local and international scene. In 2022, her first directorial debut, Depth of Emotions, made headlines for attracting a full house on its premiere night. The film has since been selected for the forthcoming edition of the International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF), much to Ranganawa’s delight. Ranganawa is thrilled at having a fresh laurel on the groundbreaking feature film.

This year, she has been busy working on a variety of projects for different media outlets. Three of her productions i.e. Wife of Usher, Unbroken Chains, and The Goronga Boys have aired on ZBC TV. She has also worked on Trumak Media’s “What You See”. Additionally, she plays Caroline in the all new NRTV series, Broken Lives, produced by Tatenda Studios.

Mandy advises young women with dreams of making a mark in their chosen fields to monetize their talents and make a living out of them.

“Everything is business,” she says. “You will thank yourself for it.”