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Flame (1996 film)

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Director
  
Ingrid Sinclair

Initial release
  
March 5, 1998 (Germany)

Duration
  

7/10
IMDb

Genre
  
Drama, War

Producers
  
Simon Bright, Joel Phiri

Language
  
English

Writer
  
Ingrid Sinclair, Barbara Jago, Philip Roberts

Cast
  
Marian Kunonga
,
Ulla Mahaka
,
Moise Matura

Screenplay
  
Ingrid Sinclair, Barbara Jago, Philip Roberts

Similar movies
  
Game for Vultures (1979), Neria (1993), The Power of One (1992), Endgame (2009), Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation (2007)

Flame 1996 zimbabwe full movie


Flame is a controversial 1996 war film directed by Ingrid Sinclair, produced by Joel Phiri and Simon Bright, and stars Marian Kunonga and Ulla Mahaka. It was the first Zimbabwean film since independence set during the Rhodesian Bush War, and served as a tribute to the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army's many female guerrillas.

Contents

Atlanta 1996 olympic games olympic flame opening ceremony


Plot

In 1975, Florence, an impulsive young peasant girl from the Mashonaland countryside, decides to run away and join the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) after her father is detained by the Rhodesian Security Forces. She and her friend Nyasha subsequently brave the dangers of the African bush on a long trek to a refugee camp in neighbouring Mozambique, where they are trained as militants by ZANU's insurgent wing, ZANLA. Both adopt new revolutionary identities: Nyasha becomes Liberty, representing her desire for self-sufficiency, while Florence brands herself Flame, representing passion.

Life in the Mozambican refugee camps is hard: Flame and Liberty must learn to deal with the hardship and constant dangers of insurgent life. To complicate matters, some unscrupulous male guerrillas - such as Comrade Che, a ZANLA political commissar, assume that female members of the party would be available to satisfy their sexual desires. When Flame rejects his advances, Che rapes and impregnates her with his child.

Although naturally devastated, Flame reconciles with Che and is shattered when he and their son are killed by a Rhodesian air strike. Determining she has nothing to live for but the conflict, Flame goes on to distinguish herself during ZANLA raids on farms and infrastructure. Zimbabwean independence in the 1980s proves bittersweet for Flame, who finds it difficult adjusting to civilian life. Under Robert Mugabe's new government, rural unemployment is rising, thousands continue to migrate to urban areas in search of work, and many ZANLA veterans - including Flame's new husband - feel disillusioned or ignored. Flame relocates to Harare, where Liberty has used her background as an intelligence officer to secure a lucrative administrative post, although their reunion is short-lived: Flame wants assistance but Liberty no longer believes in the collectivist principles of mutual support and shared purpose once preached by ZANU during the bush war.

The two acquaintances finally attend a Heroes' Day party, nearly fifteen years after their struggle against white Rhodesia began, in an increasingly authoritarian Zimbabwe. They continue to greet passerby with the old pan-African slogan, "A luta continua" ("the struggle continues") as the film closes.

Cast

  • Marian Kunonga as Florence (Flame)
  • Ulla Mahaka as Nyasha (Liberty)
  • Robina Chombe as Charity
  • Dick Chingaira as Rapo
  • Production

    The film was shot in Zimbabwe.

    Reception

    Flame was selected for the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.

    Awards

    Flame received several awards in the following film festivals:

    Southern African Film Festival, Harare

  • OAU Prize - Best Film
  • Jury Award - Best Actress
  • Jury Award - Best Director
  • Journées de Cinématographe de Carthage, Tunis

  • Special Jury Prize - Best Film
  • Amiens Film Festival, Amiens, France

  • Prix du Public - Best Film
  • Palmares du Jury - Best Actress
  • OCIC Award - Best Film
  • M-Net Film Awards, Cape Town

  • Best Music
  • The Annonay International Film Festival, France

  • The Grand Prix - Best Film
  • The Milan African Film Festival

  • Premio del Pubblico (The Public Prize)
  • Concorso Lungometraggi - Migliore Opera Prima (Best First Film)
  • The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, New York

  • The Nestor Almendros Prize
  • The International Women's Film Festival in Turenne (1998)

  • The Jury Award for Best Film
  • The Youth Award for Best Feature Film
  • In Zimbabwe

    After being shown to the Veterans Association of Zimbabwe, the veterans claimed it was "full of lies" and were angered by the rape scene. The film was confiscated by police for being "subversive and pornographic", but was returned to the producers after a worldwide campaign. Ultimately, it passed Zimbabwean censors and became a box office success and the number one film of the year in Zimbabwe.

    References

    Flame (1996 film) Wikipedia
    Flame (1996 film) IMDb Flame (1996 film) themoviedb.org