Screening Of Zimbabwe Township Music Film On This Thursday
By Novell Zwange – The Embassy of Spain in Zimbabwe continues calling for proposals to consolidate its cultural centre as an excellent meeting point, training centre and a place of interchange for the diverse cultural agents and critics of Zimbabwe and Spain. In creating a dynamic space to promote reflexion, dialogue and debate; transferring knowledge, exchanging experiences and bringing together initiatives related to cultural cooperation the embassy is lining up a number of cultural activities in Harare.
The Embassy has the pleasure of starting the winter season by inviting you to the screening of “Zimbabwean Township Music”, a documentary produced in 1992 by Joyce Jence Makwenda, a researcher/archivist and jazz music lover who was born in Mbare Township in 1958.
Township Music is essentially the Zimbabwean people’s interpretation of jazz. It has its origins in the townships (high-density suburbs) of Harare (now Mbare) and Mzilikazi in Bulawayo in the 30s. These townships were created for African residents during Rhodesia’s urbanisation.
The research on the history of Township Music initially consisted of interviews of musicians who had been popular during the 1930’s to1960’s with the objective to better understand the entertainment culture of earlier generations of urban Zimbabweans. Having amassed this information on the country’s musical history, Joyce´s passionate ambition has been to document it in the form of a film.
She boats of five prestigious accolades to her credit:
– Zimbabwe Township Music Documentary – 1993 (Southern African Film Festival)
– Best TV Producer of the Year – 1993 (Reuters – National Media Awards)
– Second Best TV Producer of the Year – 1994 (Reuters – National Media Awards)
– Freelance Woman Journalist of the year – 1999 (UNIFEM sponsored)
– Population Development and Gender Writer of the Year – 2002 (UNFPA –
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists)
“Zimbabwean Township Music” documentary will be screened at the Cultural Center of the Spanish Embassy on Thursday 9th June at 6.30 PM. Entry is free.
