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Tonderai Zvimba, Showbiz Reporter
ZIMBABWE film, ‘Cook Off’, premiered in South Africa this past weekend at the ongoing Durban International Film Festival.

The film that was inspired by the local Battle of the Chefs cooking show had its first SA screening last Saturday at Ster-Kinekor Musgrave Centre and is also set to be shown at Ster-Kinekor – Gateway Shopping Centre on Friday. Its last screening will be at Suncoast Cinecentre in Durban on Sunday.

The Durban film festival is one of the major film festivals in Southern Africa and presents over 200 screenings, celebrating the best in African and international cinema while offering filmmaker workshops, industry seminars, discussion forums and outreach activities.

Cook Off, a romantic comedy by Tomas Brickhill – who is the director of Battle of the Chefs, and local film producer Joe Njagu features young actress Tendai Chitima (Anesu). It also features rapper Tehn Diamond, actor Eddie Sandifolo and Jesesi Mungoshi.

The story is about Anesu whose life has come to a standstill with a dead-end cooking job, no romantic prospects and a mother who criticises her every move. As a school dropout and single mother, Anesu constantly feels the weight of her mother’s judgment. On the bright side however, everyone in town loves her cooking.