First-time documentary filmmaker: Abel Dzobo
Abel Dzobo at work
18 November 2011
Abel Dzobo is a young Zimbabwean documentary filmmaker who recently produced, The Show Goes On, a documentary narrating the cancer struggles of the late sungura musician, Tongai Moyo. A graduate of media and society studies from Midlands State University, Dzobo talks about his beginnings, the inspiration and motivation to tell stories. His is a story about ambition, about determination, and a lot of faith.
I know we share the same alma mater, Midlands State University. What made you to go and study media and society studies and not say literature or African languages?
I am a communicator, and have been one since birth. And I am a great admirer of the English language, especially its power to reach out to a global audience.
In your view what is the role of the media in society?
The media is a mirror of society and must reflect what is happening. It is also the moral conscience of society, applauding the good and baring canine teeth when evil threatens society.
One of the enduring criticisms of university education in Zimbabwe or elsewhere is that it is mostly paper education that is too theoretical and divorced from real life situations. How would you say your degree has equipped you for the profession you are currently pursuing?
University education is indeed paper education. After school one is forced to choose either a straightforward career or start a business. Zimbabwe today has thousands of educated destitutes. However, I would say my degree helped me look at the other side of the story, always. Otherwise I had never come into contact with a video camera before. Print editing software is outdated, everything is bookish. We seriously have to look at university education, bring in more practicals and do away with theories and look at the millenium development goals, national priorities and then focus resources towards acquiring such competencies.
Was your dream to become a journalist or a filmmaker? And do you think these are easy profession(s) in Zimbabwe considering (a) the strict media laws and (b) lack of resources or funds?
I am a storyteller, I am a communicator. I am a filmmaker. I don’t want to just be another journalist. I don’t want to just report that Jane bit John on the cheek. So what? In my own small way, I want to contribute to this world through exposing the bad, encouraging the good through documentaries. Edu-tainment through film. Film in Zimbabwe is pursued not as a career, but as a calling, a hobby. You can’t drop out of your day job to pursue film. You do both. There is no industry to sustain a livelihood. The film industry in Zimbabwe is also struggling due to piracy. Barely a week after my documentary (on the late sungura musician Tongai Moyo) premiered, it had already been pirated. And unfortunately sport is still the major sponsorship choice for corporates, not film.
Who have been your main influences and why?
In writing, it was Shimmer Chinodya as I read his books when I was a young boy in primary school; Sydney Sheldon as well as J. R. R. Tolkien. In film, Steven Spielberg, locally Tsitsi Dangarembga, Blessing Hungwe and Blessing Mhaka. And faith. The Show Goes On has really brought me closer to God. I have been able to do things I never imagined I would achieve in my life, I went along without funding, the courage when words of doubt were an inseparable companion.
Before the Dhewa documentary, you were unknown to many people and had little or no film experience. Why was Tongai Moyo a perfect subject for the beginning of your journey in film?
I was a senior sub-editor with H-Metro, also did part time with The Sunday Mail, content with creating captive headlines and beautiful page layouts. I was moved by negative stories about Tongai Moyo that started filtering through the newspapers.The sense for justice, the sense to defend those unjustly attacked, the need to appreciate those values in life that transcend the ordinary led me to do the Tongai Moyo documentary. Others were not seeing what I could see. I am a Tongai Moyo fan, and I set out to tell his story. And the tagline: “When we let our light shine we unconsciously let others do the same” really shows that Tongai’s is a story of inspiration. But later on the bigger cancer story would become more apparent and I became determined to bring it to the attention of our society.
Filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga says, ‘Initially this documentary was about Tongai (but), he pushed its direction to raising awareness about cancer, focusing on other cancer patients less privileged than he was, honestly this proves he was a man of character.’ What set off the making of this documentary?
It was the need to celebrate the courage and resilience Tongai showed against non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Zimbabwe has this bullet mentality, heroes are only those who went to war (the liberation struggle). But Tongai is a hero. He brought soothing joy and counselling to our hearts. Look at how Lance Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer, is celebrated in the US. So this was a wake-up call for us as Zimbabwe to celebrate our own. And yes, Tongai unselfishly said: “Don’t only focus on me, there are many people out there dying of cancer, but they do not know.” So faith and inspiration combined, and there you have the documentary. 50% of proceeds from DVD sales, which we are selling for US$1, will go to the late Tongai’s family. 40% will go to the production company while 10% will go to the Cancer Association of Zimbabwe.
Is cancer a serious threat to the Zimbabwean society and how can it be curbed?
Cancer is a serious threat, a silent epidemic. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Zimbabwe sees 7 000 new cancer cases per year. But the figure could as well be double, because there are those in the rural areas who cannot access specialist services, hence they are never diagnosed. Cancers of the blood such as Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin, cannot be seen using the naked eyes, so people just die while consulting traditional healers and self-styled prophets who diagnose it as evil spirits. The drugs are very expensive. Chemotherapy costs between US$400 to US$1 000 in public hospitals and US$2 000 to US$6 000 in private hospitals.
An early review points out that ‘poor sound spoils Dhewa documentary. The 30-minute film could have been an exceptional production had it not been for poor sound.’ What challenges did you face in the making of the documentary?
That was a malicious review. The reporter was most probably not at the premiere at the 7 Arts Theatre in Avondale, Harare. The sound is very good. People actually shed tears as they watched the documentary. Otherwise, I faced serious financial challenges in the making of this documentary. I had to augment my funds with a bank loan and until January 2012 I will be living on half my salary. Filming was on and off depending on Dhewa’s treatment regime and at times he was in too much pain.,
Who is the audience of this documentary and how are you getting it out to them?
Everyone, from the white-headed ancient man with his walking stick to the toddler. From the business mogul to the peasant farmer. The price, US$1, is not very viable as a business, but we want everyone to afford as one of our aims is to raise cancer awareness. Cancer can affect anyone. Cancer can kill anyone. We are also targeting the policymakers, donor agencies, corporate to get involved in the fight against cancer. Tongai Moyo was a celebrity everyone knew. He touched many hearts through his music, so all these people will want to watch it. I am in the process of raising funds to do mobile cinema. I would like to take the documentary to the remote areas of Zimbabwe, everyone should be educated about cancer.
Zimbabwe does not necessarily have a strong culture of film documentaries. Why is that?
There are no takers. The television station we have, ZBC-TV, does not buy programmes as BBC, CNN, Etv, SABC1-3 would do. They flight your project which you did with your own resources and pay you nothing. You have to look for your own adverts to flight on the day in question, and you have to share that revenue with them. I welcome the idea of licencing more players; this will help producers of content like myself. Corporates are yet to really understand the impact of film and documentaries, that they can get mileage through them, not only through cricket and soccer. If not for my sacrifice, the Tongai Moyo story would not have been told.
