MSU feature film to air on ZTV

GWERU –Award winning Midlands State University (MSU) produced series, Tsvakai, will be airing on
national Broadcaster ZTV this month.
Tsvakai, which is centred on celebrating Zimbabwean culture and beauty, was developed from a
short film into a feature film.
The series will be on ZTV from January 21 at 7.30pm.
Tsvakai scooped the first prize at the Varsity Film Expo held in Bulawayo from 6-8 December 2021. It
was produced by MSU's department of Media, Communication, Film and Theatre Arts, directed by
Godknows Chera, edited by Brighton Munaku and Brandon Dambo, a Film student is the
cinematographer.
MSU Zvishavane Campus Director Professor Advice Vhiriri is delighted to see the Media,
Communication, Film and Theatre Arts department shine.
“The Media, Communication, Film and Theatre Arts department has put us on the map, it is in a big
way fulfilling the government’s Education 5.0. thrust. The department has managed to create
enough content to satisfy the market demands for example for our local national television station.
The department is doing excellent work that markets the University,” he said.
Film Lecturer and Production Director of ‘Tsvakai’ Godknows Chera said that film is important in
pushing the positive identity and image of societies, telling homegrown stories that inspire, motivate
and amplify the government’s vision.
“We want to consume content that we produce. Zimbabwe is indeed in dire need of reshaping and
realigning itself when it comes to its narrative. It is from this vision that we seek to produce content
that not only entertains but redefines the Zimbabwean generation,” Chera said.
“As a department, we will continue producing films because we have seen that the Zimbabwean Arts
industry is a busy industry. We are not stopping, after Tsvakai feature film, we are going to produce
two or more productions which should be complete by the end of this year.
“We do not just teach students to produce films on paper but we also go in the field and
demonstrate to see whether our students are learning the concepts”, said Brighton Munaku, Film
Lecturer and Editor of Tsvakai.
Tsvakai is going to be produced using a variety of local languages which include Shona, Ndebele,
Tonga and Tswana for people from various linguistic communities to watch and enjoy it.
After Tsvakai, the department is planning on producing a series titled Kinky written and directed by
MSU Film Lecturer Scrah Mudala.