Zim films short-listed for Magic Award-(08-02-07

Filmmakers of Zimbabwe under the production guidance of renowned author Tsitsi Dangarembga, is one of eight others that will be battling it out in the Best Short Film category at the Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) which takes off at the AMC Magic Johnson Theatres in Los Angeles, the United States this week.
The feature thriller The Silent Fall is another short-listed contender. It was produced by Sunrise Productions – a dynamic and creative young company founded in Zimbabwe in the late 1990s.
The festival, which is a brainchild of former basketball icon and HIV/AIDS activist Magic Johnson, is aimed at celebrating “Africanism”.
Talented Zimbabwean Roger Hawkins, now based in Cape Town, is short listed for the best director award.
A number of professionals in the film industry were responsible for the selection of the nominees, but the more than 200 000 festival filmgoers will also have the opportunity to cast ballots for their favourite show.
Written by the late Blessing Chihombori during the inaugural Women Filmmakers Of Zimbabwe (WFOZ) Writing Skills Workshop in 2003 and developed by Blessing Musariri the following year, the 12-minute short feature is in Shona, with English sub-titles.
The cast includes Kudzai Chimbaira, Anthony Tomy and Ignatius Mabasa, with the production team comprising Jackie Cahi (manager), Michele Mathison (camera), Olaf Koschke (editor) and Carine Tredgold (production designer). German script-doctor Andrew Hood and director of production Frank Amann also had a hand in the perfection of the film. – CAJ News