BY NYADZOMBE NYAMPENZA AWARD-WINNING creative and social entrepreneur, Skanyisiwe “Ska” Sebata continues to make waves with her short film titled Her: A disintegrated Notion which was recently featured by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) platform on World Aids Day commemorations for this year.
Under an initiative called Education Plus, UNFPA provides a platform for young women to speak against HIV and GBV.
The five-minute film, which is directed by Ska and produced by Dexter Fundire, showcases models in inventive garments and make-up to deliver a powerful message against gender-based violence (GBV).
It (film) also highlights issues of maternal mortality, HIV Aids, lower incomes and job security, and under-representation in decision making positions in spite of women making up 52 percent of the population.
Speaking of her inspiration, Ska said through living in rural areas, she witnessed a host of inequalities on a daily basis because of the patriarchy system that was prevalent.
“It was important for me to feature in the film the area (Mvutu Chiefdom of rural Victoria Falls) in which I live and operate in as well as involve the community,” she said.
“When shaping narratives, one cannot do so without involving those that are being spoken of. I hope that the film gives some direction on how women can be empowered within a Zimbabwean and African context.”
Ska employs the ball gown as a trope to convey a regal image of empowered womanhood.
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The film centres on women from production, to casting and storytelling.
It showcases women speaking up, instead of being spoken for.
In the film, the narrator leads by describing a woman’s positive attributes through affirming adjectives such as beautiful, strong, intelligent, and much more.
Her feminine voice draws empathy for the female protagonists.
The opening scene of the film reveals a defiant young woman in a multihued ball gown staring through the camera at the audience. Her hairstyle is ethnic and imposing.
A young man joins the woman and together they enact domestic scenes of strife leading to conflict that ends in violence.
Another young woman joins the couple thereby extending the narrative. Violence is suggested by mimetic gestures that would not inadvertently trigger survivors of such violence and abuse to relive the trauma.
The film was shot between a pastoral background, and dystopian dumpsite that alludes to environmental degradation.
The location is a village known as Borehole 28 (BH28) in the Mvutu Chiefdom of rural Victoria Falls, Ska’s home area.
While some campaigns against GBV are based on the premise that women need to be protected, with slogans directed towards men underscored by images of bruised, bandaged, and tearful women, Ska’s approach however, is positive, affirmative, and empowering.
Ska’s film is a fine example of perceptive cultural productions that can have a positive impact and contribute to genuine progress.
The cast include models Patra Mathe and Abigirl Nyathi, Stephan Wabaya, Claude Ricke who did the score and Charity Hutete, who did the voice over.
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