ZAMBIA’s short film, Mwansa the Great has finally premiered in Zambia since it was released two years ag0.

The movie, which was shot in Zambia and has won international awards, saw its first local screening last Friday at Ster Kinekor cinema during the launch of the annual Barefeet Arts Festival.
This Zambian movie has become one of the most successful local movies in the history of the Zambian film industry. It has received a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) nominations.
The movie, written and directed by United Kingdom-based upcoming filmmakers Rungano Nyoni, has been screened at over 100 international film festivals, receiving 20 awards and has garnered critical acclaim worldwide for its playful depiction of childhood innocence.
The movie was shot in Chongwe district. It tells a story of an eight-year-old boy who aspires to be a hero and embarks upon a journey to prove his greatness with unexpected consequences. It gives an emotional insight into childhood where fantasy jostles with reality as a young boy’s imagination transforms and empowers everyday life.
Some of the awards Mwansa the Great has won are the Griot Best Short Film and RTVA at the Tarifa African Film Festival 2011 in Spain and Best Short Film, Best Director and Best Editing at the Naoussa International Film Festival in Greece.
Other honours include Special Jury Mention (Curtocircuito International Film Festival 2011), Audience Award (Vienna Independent Shorts 2011), Best Short Film (Film Africa, London 2011), Best International Short Film (CUCSCO Peru 2011) and Jury Special Film (Winterthur Film Festival 2011).
This imaginative movie won many hearts of the viewers that included government officials, representatives from international organisations and local film enthusiasts who wished the movie to be longer than it is.The money to be realised from the sale of the DVDs will be channeled to Yofoso Childrens’ Centre in Garden township.
Source – Daily Mail Zambia