Billed as the definitive account of Mugabe’s life, it dramatically illustrates his successful liberation and development of the country but also his ruthless and cunning retention of power at all costs.
Bright says the film “gives Mugabe the credit where its due. It’s an exploration of what happened to a promising African leader who was well respected and it recognises his fight for freedom and against Apartheid. But it also explores the forces that caused him to effectively destroy a lot of what he built.”
The film makers hoped the film would have an impact on the weekend’s crucial SADC meeting. "Mugabe has made minimal concessions in terms of the military, judiciary, reserve bank and electoral machinery. Not enough has changed, so he still has the mechanisms in place to run another bloody electoral campaign to stay in power. Our film is a call to African and international leaders and to the people of Zimbabwe to continue the fight for truly free and fair elections. The film shows exactly how Mugabe gets votes. He unleashes youth militias in rural areas to terrorise and intimidate the population. One story in the film is of a woman who is first burnt with metal and then gang raped for being MDC,” says a statement from the producers.
“President Zuma must stick to his guns and SADC must enforce the Global Political Agreement that should have been enforced three years ago. Otherwise Mugabe will rush through another election using all the tactics he is feared for.”
Bright and Auret were both part of activist families opposed to Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith and white supremacy. Both families were exiled during the Rhodesian war and returned just after Mugabe had brought democracy to the country.
The early promise of Mugabe’s reign deteriorated and Bright was inspired to make the film after imprisonment for a short time in 2003, and so he slipped back across the border in 2007 to start research. Five years later they are finishing this eye-opening film, which contains never-seen-before archival footage.
The film screens publicly in Johannesburg on Friday 17 and Sunday 26 June at Nu Metro Hyde Park, and in Cape Town on Monday 13 and Sunday 26 June at Nu Metro V&A Waterfront. – Visit www.MugabeMovie.com to view the trailer and for more information
Post published in: Economy