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Showbiz Reporter
The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) says it has commenced the process of drafting a strategy for the country’s film sector.

The Film Strategy is expected to lead to the revitalisation and expansion of the sector.

This follows the successful launch of the Zimbabwe Music Strategy at the beginning of the month and is part of the NACZ vision of having different Cultural and Creative Sector (CCS) strategies produced in the mould of the National Cultural and Creative Industries Strategy (NCCIS) launched by the Government in 2020.

“The NACZ is leveraging on the expertise obtained by its team comprising staff and CCS practitioners in the crafting of the Music Strategy to develop the Film Strategy as well as the visual, literary, and other sector strategies in the immediate future.

“Film and television have become the second sector to have a strategy developed following the realisation that the production and distribution of film and audio visual works is one of the most dynamic growth sectors in the world with a huge potential for attracting commercial investment and capacity to employ a large number of youths and women in high-skilled jobs,” NACZ director Nicholas Moyo said in a statement.

“According to the latest Unesco African Film Industry report, the film sector accounts for over US$5 billion in revenues and employs over five million across the African continent with a potential to generate US$20 billion and employ up to 20 million people,” added Moyo.

He said the film strategy is meant to respond to challenges bedevilling the local industry. These include the largely informal nature of operations by players, piracy and illegal exploitation of audio-visual content as well as a lack of clear distribution infrastructure.

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“The strategy is expected to leverage the increased participation of women behind and in front of the camera, the licensing of new television stations, and the new ability to monetise online content on social media platforms YouTube, Netflix, and other prospective local mobile video services.”

The preliminary stage of the film strategy development, according to Moyo, began in May with the hosting of a stakeholders workshop in Harare.

Television – Image taken from Shutterstock

It attracted over 35 practitioners in the film and television sector from the different provinces in the country. The workshop examined the state of the film sector in Zimbabwe and the expectations for the strategy drafting process.

Nominations for the national team members who will be tasked with the production of the strategy were submitted.

Twenty-three prominent filmmakers and academics were selected for the national team with an induction workshop set to be held in Harare on Friday to kick-start the actual crafting of the strategy.