NAMA award-winning filmmaker, Sydney Tirivashe, is aiming to win an Oscar gong with his new film, ‘Gonarezhou’.
Shooting of the feature film which highlights the effects of poaching is scheduled to kick off this winter, with the bulk of exterior scenes appearing at Gonarezhou National Park and others in places dotted around Masvingo.
The end product is projected to appear in theatres in 2018.
Preproduction work began in 2013 after more than 3000 elephants were poisoned by poachers using cyanide, inspiring Tirivashe to pen down a story to campaign against such inhumane acts.
“The film is meant to raise awareness of cruel acts against wildlife in Africa with a purpose to instill a sense of responsibility and fear to those who might be considering poaching as a way to gain quick riches,” reads the film overview.
In its synopsis, the film presents a young man who is roped into some illegal poaching gimmicks out of the dire need to survive harsh economic conditions.
“A defeated young man in a highly charged environment of rampant poaching dreams about becoming an acclaimed traditional musician against the laws of nature,” hinted the film summary.
“We want the project to be completed by September this year because we want to try the Oscars in the ‘Best foreign language film category’,” he said.
He also revealed that some soon to be named international organisation has come on board to support this project.
“We have international organisations that have contributed financially and we have been in talks with captains of industry to be part of this $68000 project and it’s looking good,” he continued.
Two time NAMA award nominee Charles Munganasa will double as producer and casting director for this coming project.
Gonarezhou will add to the list of compelling productions that have come from Tirivashe that include ‘Seiko’ and ‘Through the Night’.
