BY TAFADZWA KACHIKO
EMERGING filmmaker Fungai “FC Stanley” Chigumbura is set to premiere his debut production Highway Black — a movie which explores corruption at roadblocks — at the end of this month.
“Corruption is very relevant right now, but interpretation of the film depends on what each viewer takes away from it. I, therefore, don’t want to ascribe any particular message because viewers will then interpret it through that lens. I ask questions and let people answer them for themselves,” Chigumbura said.
“Also, we didn’t use local police uniforms. Or even explicitly say it was Zimbabwe because we didn’t want any unnecessary political connotations.”
The filmmaker said the production process was an exciting experience as he saw his thoughts transforming into motion pictures.
“Bringing the script to life was the most exciting part as I watched it unfolding into something meaningful. It took an existence of its own that I never fully predicted when I scripted it,” he said.
“The biggest challenge, however, was working on a limited budget.”
Chigumbura is optimistic that the movie would create opportunities for him, especially collaborations.
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“I look forward to possible connections and collaborations that the film might open up for me as a way of supporting each other in our industry as well as bringing the best out of each other,” he said.
Chigumbura said the film’s synopsis revolved around a virtuous policeman Stephen, played by Tapiwa Mavindidze who must make a choice that has implications on multiple lives.
“The film came from an old idea I had about traffic checkpoints and how they are becoming a breeding ground for corruption. I wanted to explore the multiple facets around that and to provide a limelight on what makes a person do what they do, and also at what point corruption becomes understandable, if not necessarily justifiable,” he said. “In the film, Stephen is a morally upright policeman in a nation that seems to reward the morally bent. His strait-laced nature causes friction at home, where his family desperately needs money to survive.
“A mysterious fixer takes care of a dirty job for a wealthy man and is on a path to get away with it, until he encounters the one policeman who actually does his job. With mounting pressure from multiple sides, Stephen must decide exactly where he stands.”
The film also stars Ngoni Vere, Munyaradzi Guramatunhu and Pryde Mpofu.
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