The ManicaPost
By Wimbainashe Zhakata and Luthando Mapepa Entertainment Correspondents
THE much-awaited Ndau soap-opera — Gaza — which was produced by veteran filmmaker and former Studio 263 actor, Ben Mahaka, is set to be aired on ZTV in a few weeks to come, it has been established.
The soap was shot in Chipinge’s high-density suburb of Gaza and will be aired on national television between 7pm and 7:30pm. Mahaka said Gaza is a story about Rosy Muyambo, a 14-year-old school girl who is forced into marriage upon being made pregnant by her boyfriend, Remington Sigauke. But even before the traditional rites of paying lobola are performed, it is clear that the marriage is headed for the rocks.
“It explores various issues faced in our society from gender-based violence to child marriage, without taking away the entertainment aspect of it,” said Mahaka, who hails from Chipinge.
Remington’s mother believes that Rosy is not good enough for her son, and is determined to send her back, but Rosy’s father would not allow his pregnant daughter back. Season One of Gaza chronicles Rosy’s loss of identity and security as she could not go to school, call the Sigauke’s house her home and remained unwelcome at her own parents’ house. Ethel, the other main character in Gaza, is the Sigauke’s first born.
She got married soon after finishing high school and after a few years of marriage, wants to do some college courses. But her husband, an outwardly modern man, who is nonetheless very traditional, refuses. He believes that a woman’s place is in the home.
Rosy is played by Gamuchirai Maphosa,Remington by Tapiwa Tamirepi, Ethel by Lynah Dube while Ben Mahaka plays Ethel’s husband, Dumisani Mudhluli.
Mahaka said his dream of producing the Ndau film come true after the Government chipped in to help through the Zim Digital programme. This was after 11 years of shelving it. Mahaka said he tried to source for funding from different well wishers to no avail.
“I wrote Gaza in 2006 after leaving Studio 263. It was originally called Highfields because I intended to produce it there. The opportunity to produce it eventually arose when the Zim Digital project started. Besides opening up the possibility of producing the series in my hometown, it also allowed us to work with the new talent from Chipinge, both as actors and crew.
“During the 11 years that I tried to pitch the series to development agencies, I often got frustrated. However, when we finally got to do the project with Government instead of NGOs, I realised that the past years of rejection were a blessing in disguise.
“Sometimes you can get lucky and partner an agency that understands the balance needed for a message programme to work, but often you get the sledgehammer treatment where founders are overly prescriptive. ZimDigital supported and allowed us to tell our story,” he added. Mahaka said though they faced some challenges, he believes that the episode will be a hit once premiered on television.
“We trained local crew for a week while shooting episode one, and then they took over from there. All the trainers, except Yeukai Ndarimani, who stayed until the end of the shooting, returned to Harare. Most part of the writing and shooting process were fun. We had the usual challenges of absenteeism, inflated egos and rivalries, but we all learned from the process.
“As a trainer, I marvelled at how quickly some crew and cast grasped the concepts that we presented to them and helped to enrich the story with their contributions,” he said.
