Shungu is a compelling narrative of the strategies ordinary people use to survive in Zimbabwe today. Lyrically photographed, the filmmaker takes us on a personal journey offering a rare, intimate insight as the country experiences political turmoil, economic meltdown and a health care collapse. We are drawn into the lives of a 30-something metalsmith and opposition supporter running his small business while facing political violence, a middle-aged widow who is a staunch government supporter trying to run a farm she took over from a white farmer, a doctor working amid health care collapse while trying to maintain her middle-class lifestyle. Interwoven throughout is the tumultuous political power struggle and eventual reconciliation between President Robert Mugabe, and his nemesis opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. The film gives voice to the hopes and challenges of ordinary people, revealing life under one of Africa’s last “strongmen,” as Zimbabwe undergoes profound change.
Screening followed by a Q&A session with filmmakers and reception.
About the Artists
Saki Mafundikwa
Saki Mafundikwa is a maverick visionary who left a successful design career in New York to return to his native Zimbabwe and open that country’s first school of graphic design and new media. Mafundikwa is the author of Afrikan Alphabets, a comprehensive review of African writing systems. He has participated in exhibitions and workshops around the world, contributed to a variety of publications and lectured about the globalization of design and the African aesthetic. In going home and opening his school, Mafundikwa’s ambition is nothing less than to jump-start an African renaissance.
Screening, Q&A session with filmmakers and reception.
Wed • Dec 1 • 7:30 pm •
The Gatehouse
Harlem Stage on Screen receives major support from HBO. Harlem Stage Partners Program receives leadership support from Deutsche Bank and public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts.
