Shungu: The Resilience of a People

Those eager for the news from catastrophe-ridden Zimbabwe frustrated by being limited to journalists reports from the South African border or the odd undercover radio report will welcome Mafundikwa’s saddening documentary. The titular word has a range of meanings – from innovation and determination to frustration and longing – all expressed in the testimonies and faces of the half dozen main interviewees in Mafundikwa’s non-strident report, filmed from February 2008 to June 2009, just after MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai accepted his coalition role alongside Robert Mugabe. Mafundikwa’s analysis is a little cursory – and, understandably, reasonably diplomatic – but the images and stories are telling.