WOMEN Filmmakers of Zimbabwe (WFOZ) have raised concern that singer-cum-actor Selmor Mtukudzi’s film, Escape, has failed to provide an alternative narrative, succumbing to the stereotyping of women as sexual objects and black people belonging to an inferior race.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
In an interview with NewsDay yesterday, WFOZ spokesperson Karen Mukwasi said they were challenging filmmakers to produce films that offered an alternative narrative without robbing black women of their dignity.
“As Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe, it is not our place to prescribe to Zimbabwean film-makers how they should do their work. All we can do is ask for Zimbabwean filmmakers to take our views into consideration and to understand why some women feel violated by some of the films produced,” she said.
Mukwasi said although WFOZ supported all efforts to grow the local film industry, it was important to churn out stories that were liberating to black Africans, rather than create images that robbed black African women of their dignity.
“We are concerned with the images of black women and our mandate is to encourage African women filmmakers to produce films that provide an alternative narrative.”
The WFOZ sentiments came in the wake of the release of Escape, which has attracted mixed reactions from viewers.
Although some saluted the film, others expressed concern that it appeared to be more focused on sex and the objectification of the black woman.
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The film, which skates on a thin plot, traces the story of a mixed race young man, Charles (played Jose Marques), who comes from England to Zimbabwe in search of his father after his mother’s death.
From the moment he arrives, the story seems to wander away from the main theme, as Charles becomes an immediate hit with almost every black woman he comes across and ends up sleeping with all of them.
In a statement posted on their official Facebook page, WFOZ challenged filmmakers to produce films that demonstrated that there was more to black African women than being victims and sex objects.
“The representation of the black woman as being nothing more than a sexual being with very little else to offer is disturbing and it counters the revolution by a lot of African women film-makers to create an alternative narrative,” part of the statement read.
“Producers of the film have announced that they are targeting the international market. This means Escape will become yet another film reinforcing negative stereotypes of African people, especially women.”
The film’s co-producer, Joe Njagu, yesterday promised to respond to the claims, but had not done so by the time of going to print.
