Our Next Guest is Nakai Matema.
Nakai is a veteran Zimbabwean Producer whose filmography eclipses all other contemporary Zimbabwean filmmakers. Since the 1990s she has been involved with and worked for various film organisations that have mapped the local Zimbabwean film industry including the Southern Africa Film Festival (SAFF), Framework International and Ice Films.
She coordinated the feature film Flame that screened at the Cannes Director’s Fortnight, and produced several ground-breaking documentaries including Rehad Desai’s My Land, My Life and Leo Phiri’s A Fighting Spirit from the STEPS for the Future series.
She was instrumental in the establishment and growth of the Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust (ZIFFT) where she became Executive Director in 2008. While at ZIFFT she ran the iconic Short Film Project (SFP). During her tenure, she produced over 30 films from emerging filmmakers and continues to produce cutting edge films and to develop Zimbabwean filmmaking talent. Films she produced at SFP have been nominated for the African Movie Academy Awards and won a string of Zimbabwean National Arts Merit Awards. Talented alumni of the Short Film Project include Marian Kunonga, Rumbi Katedza, Tongayi Chirisa, Tafadzwa Njovana, Joe Njagu and Ben Mahaka.