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First feature film by Ingrid Sinclair, produced by Joel Phiri and Simon Bright, and the first to be set during the country's liberation struggle. Shot in Zimbabwe with an entirely Zimbabwean cast, the film is based on the accounts of women who joined the liberation war. |
Flame - Director's Intentions
From 1972 to 1980 there was civil war in Zimbabwe. We know about the heroes. Yes, they are buried in Heroes Acre, a high kopje that overlooks the town. And they are all men.
There are few accounts of what really happened, what life was really like for those who fought. How they suffered, their bravery, and their hardships. And there is no account at all of what happened to the women who fought beside the men.
So we live in a country where not long ago women were fighting, commanding men and other women: carrying dangerous war materials on their heads across wild bush filled with mines -- and no-one wants to know. So .... They keep quiet and some have nightmares, some will never marry, many have children who do not know their fathers. They are 'difficult' women.
"These are strange times. Strange times indeed. Times when you
go home to a bunch of war-born kids and wonder how you can make them understand your strange
outcome in life. Explain why you belong to the most jobless and unmarried group of women
in society. And how this should become a fact of life to be checked not abused. To be
incorporated, not discarded."
(Neka Kazingizi, ex-combatant mother of three. Written in 1998)
I want to make FLAME because the stories of these women have never been told. It's a tribute to their bravery, and also a reminder of how strong they really are. They must use their strength to push themselves forward. No government and no society is going to give them what they want. They must take it for themselves.
And behind their stories lies a universal theme that women everywhere recognise -- the fight for independence, and then the isolation and disregard and suppression that follows.
It's time to show African women in a universal light. They're shown as victims, courageously struggling imbued with wisdom of the earth. Born to die as slaves of circumstance. In other words, different from women in developed countries. I want to go beyond difference to show similarities: their loves and hopes, their failings, their stubborness, their vanity, even their cruelty -- women as full human beings with every nuance and shade of emotion.
It's a film that appeals to the emotions, although it takes place against a historical background. The style therefore reflects these two qualities: partly using a 'documentary' style to give a feeling of realism, and partly a more composed view to bring us close and steady to the humanity and softness of the characters in the film.
Whilst the backdrop is particular, the story is universal. Two friends see life together, fight for independence together, and go their separate ways. After many years, they meet again. At first, it seems as if they have drifted too far apart, but gradually they recognise a common aim - to keep their hard won independence. Realising each other's strengths, they can be friends again, but in a new way. Their friendship can take them forward, and together they understand that they must not try to forget the past, nor ignore the changes of the present.
