So in the USA they have Hollywood, Nigeria has Nollywood, and India has Bollywood but in Zimbabwe what do we have?
There are so many great movies being produced by Zimbabweans on a daily basis but do producers have a channel to get their content to consumers like in the countries mentioned above?
The answer is yes and that channel amongst many others is Zollywood.
This vibrant concept is the brainchild of two Zimbabweans based in the UK namely, Tony Mliswa and Thulani Matsvimbo.
They came up with the concept after realizing that there was more emphasis on Nigerian films than Zimbabwean films in the UK.
“Zimbabweans in the diaspora got accustomed to watching Nigerian films because there was nothing else African to watch. People in the diaspora were suffering from nostalgia and they wanted something that would bring them closer to home,” said Mliswa.
“In 2011 I came to Zimbabwe and managed to meet up with a number of local filmmakers and in March 2012 we premiered ‘The Gentleman’ in London Leciester Square at the Prince Charles Cinema.
“In July 2012 we had another movie produced by Demetria Karongah ‘The Inlaws’ premiere at Bedfordshire University,” revealed Mliswa.
This year, Zollywood has managed to cut a deal with Vox Afria, SKY-UK, GOTV and ZUKU to show a Zimbabwean movie every Sunday at 8 pm.
“Zollywood has also managed to get DStv South Africa to show movies such as The Gentleman, Sores Of Emmanuel, Lobola and City Of Dreams.
“We hope the Zimbabwean film industry will grow and this exposure will entice Zimbabwean companies to sponsor some of these movies,” added Mliswa.
Zollywood’s main objective is to expose the Zimbabwean film industry locally and internationally.
At the moment you can watch movies like Gringo Trouble Maker, Think, Sores Of Emmanuel, Lobola, and Yellow Card on the Zollywood website at a cost and the revenue generated will go to the filmmakers.
To find out more on screening times on the various channels mentioned you can click here : www.zollywoodzim.co.uk