Cinema of Zambia

Last updated

Cinema of Zambia refers to the cinema and film industry of the country of Zambia.

Contents

In colonial Northern Rhodesia, commercial cinemas often operated de facto racial segregation, with 35-mm. cinemas showing to white audiences and 16-mm. cinemas showing to black audiences. However. open-air screening of films to Copperbelt mining communities led to widespread appreciation of Hollywood Westerns. Colonial administrators attempted to use cinema for educational instruction of miners and rural communities.

Since Zambian independence in 1964, outdoor screening has continued to be an important vehicle for cinema, and the Zambian government has continued to try to use cinema as a means of public relations. Though there are commercial film production companies in Zambia, they have not managed to achieve prominence.

Cinema audiences in Northern Rhodesia

Marcus Grill, a Jewish businessman, opened Northern Rhodesia's first open-air cinema in Livingstone in 1917. Two years later he opened Grill's Kinema, housed in a corrugated iron building. The Grill family opened Zambia's first cinema for talking pictures in 1931. [1] Respondents to the Colonial Office in 1927 reported that "natives are not admitted to the European cinematograph displays". There was, however, a weekly showing for workers at the Kabwe mine (then known as Broken Hill). The American board of missions, and Johannesburg police, censored films before they arrived in Northern Rhodesia. [2]

Film-making in Northern Rhodesia

In 1932 the missionary J. Merle Davis visited Northern Rhodesia to study the effects of Copperbelt mining on traditional communities. Arguing that cinema could help illiterate Africans adjust to industrialization, he helped found the Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment (BEKE). BEKE produced thirty-five educational films between 1935 and 1937, though the films' poor technical quality led to a withdrawal of support by many East African colonial administrators. Only Northern Rhodesia was willing to continue funding the project. The country "was more cinema conscious than other parts of black Africa because, as a result of the mine cinemas on the comparatively urbanised Copper Belt, it probably had then the largest concentration of African cinema-goers outside of South Africa." [3] Colonial administrators viewed this "large black mining population as a potential source of instability". [4]

In 1957 the first multi-racial cinema opened in Lusaka.

In 1959 the Northern Rhodesia Information Department produced six 16-mm. educational films for Africans. A small number of 35-mm. films were also made, including Kariba Game Reserve, a short feature widely circulated outside Rhodesia. The Central African Film Unit also produced two fortnightly newsreels – 'Rhodesia and Nysaland News', intended for African audiences, and another intended for European audiences – as well as a variety of informational, educational, tourist and general-interest short films. [5]

Cinema audiences in Zambia

Though there are few cinemas in Zambia, "film shows are an established part of Zambian life". [6] Private commercial companies, and the Government-run Zambian Information Services (ZIS), put on open-air screenings in rural areas. In the early 1970s Zambia had about 100 'Film-Rovers': Land Rovers equipped to show 16mm films with amplified sound.

In 1964 Zambia had 13 indoor commercial cinemas equipped with 35mm projectors, and three others with 16mm projectors. Though racial segregation was prohibited by law, white audiences predominated in the more expensive 35-mm. cinemas, and black African audiences predominated in the less expensive 16-mm. cinemas. [5] By 1971 there were 28 cinemas, with a seating capacity of 13,400. [7]

Commercial cinemas show films mostly from Britain and America, with some Indian films to cater to Zambia's small Asian community.

Government film-making in Zambia

The Zambia Information Services (ZIS) was established on independence in 1964, as a successor to the Northern Rhodesia Information Services and the Central African Film Unit. [8] A ZIS film unit makes documentary films in Zambia. In the early 1970s this unit was supposed to be making a new documentary every fortnight, with over 30 copies, including some copies with Zambian language sound-tracks in Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga and Lozi. However, the unit did not manage this level of production, and a shortage of skilled translators meant that many of the documentaries remained in English. [6]

In 2005 ZIS merged with the Zambia News Agency (ZANA) to form the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS). [9]

Private filmmaking in Zambia

The Zimbabwean film director Michael Raeburn shot part of Killing Heat, his 1981 version of Doris Lessing's first novel The Grass is Singing , in Zambia.

In 1999 an independent production company, Ambush Productions was founded in Zambia. Their feature documentary. Choka!, also titled Get Lost!, portrayed the daily life of Zambian street children. [10] The film was nominated for International Documentary Association awards. Imiti Ikula (2001) was a documentary following the life of an AIDS orphan on the streets of Lusaka. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zambia</span> Country at the crossroads of Central and Southern Africa

Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the south, Namibia to the southwest, and Angola to the west. The capital city of Zambia is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the north, the core economic hubs of the country.

The history of Zambia experienced many stages from colonization to independence from Britain on October 24, 1964. Northern Rhodesia became a British sphere of influence in the present-day region of Zambia in 1888, and was officially proclaimed a British protectorate in 1924. After many years of suggested mergers, Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland were merged into the British Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Rhodesia</span> 1911–1964 British protectorate in Southern Africa

Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia. It was initially administered, as were the two earlier protectorates, by the British South Africa Company (BSAC), a chartered company, on behalf of the British Government. From 1924, it was administered by the British Government as a protectorate, under similar conditions to other British-administered protectorates, and the special provisions required when it was administered by BSAC were terminated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British South Africa Company</span> 1889–1965 British mining and colonial enterprises company

The British South Africa Company was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expected mineral wealth of Mashonaland but united because of common economic interests and to secure British government backing. The company received a Royal Charter modelled on that of the British East India Company. Its first directors included The 2nd Duke of Abercorn, Rhodes himself, and the South African financier Alfred Beit. Rhodes hoped BSAC would promote colonisation and economic exploitation across much of south-central Africa, as part of the "Scramble for Africa". However, his main focus was south of the Zambezi, in Mashonaland and the coastal areas to its east, from which he believed the Portuguese could be removed by payment or force, and in the Transvaal, which he hoped would return to British control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ndola</span> City in Copperbelt Province, Zambia

Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia and third in terms of size and population, with a population of 475,194, after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development after Lusaka. It is the industrial and commercial center of the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It lies just 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the border with DR Congo. It is also home to Zambia's first modern stadium, the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Zambia</span> Public university in Lusaka, Zambia

The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of instruction is English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livingstone, Zambia</span> Place in Southern Province, Zambia

Livingstone is a city in Zambia. Until 1935, it served as the capital of Northern Rhodesia. Lying 10 km (6 mi) to the north of the Zambezi River, it is a tourism attraction center for the Victoria Falls and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Victoria Falls. A historic British colonial city, its present population was enumerated at 177,393 inhabitants at the 2022 census. It is named after David Livingstone, the Scottish explorer and missionary who was the first European to explore the area. Until 2011, Livingstone was the provincial capital of Zambia's Southern Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zambia Railways</span> National railway company of Zambia

Zambia Railways (ZR) is the national railway company of Zambia, one of the two major railway organisations in Zambia. The other system is the binational TAZARA Railway (TAZARA) that interconnects with the ZR at Kapiri Mposhi and provides a link to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in Zambia</span> Overview of education in Zambia

Lower education in Zambia is divided into three levels and these are namely: primary, junior secondary and upper secondary. Higher education in Zambia has improved in the recent years due to the increase of private universities and colleges. The biggest university is the public University of Zambia which is located in the capital city of Lusaka along the great east road and hosts a number of local and international students. The Copperbelt University is the second largest public university and is located in the Copperbelt province of Zambia in Kitwe, and the youngest public university is Mulungushi University, with its main campus 26 km north of Kabwe. There are many other smaller universities, both public and private including the following: Texila American University, Zambia Open University, European University Zambia Zambia Catholic University, Cavendish University, Zambia Adventist University, Northrise University, University of Lusaka, Lusaka Apex Medical University, Woodlands University College, Copperstone University College, University of Barotseland, University of Africa, Information and Communication University, Kwame Nkrumah University of Education, Chalimbana University, Rusangu University, Robert Makasa University, Zambia Centre of Accountancy Studies and there are various Health training Institutes offering Diplomas in clinical medicine Registered Nursing

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Zambia</span> Overview of and topical guide to Zambia

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Zambia:

Zambia, officially known as the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is Lusaka, located in the southeast of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around the capital and the Copperbelt to the northwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lusaka</span> Capital of Zambia

Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about 1,279 metres (4,196 ft). As of 2019, the city's population was about 3.3 million, while the urban population is estimated at 2.5 million in 2018. Lusaka is the centre of both commerce and government in Zambia and connects to the country's four main highways heading north, south, east, and west. English is the official language of the city administration, while Bemba, Tonga, Lenje, Soli, Lozi, and Nyanja are the commonly spoken street languages.

The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment (BEKE) was a project of the International Missionary Council in coordination with the Carnegie Corporation of New York and British colonial governments of Tanganyika, Kenya, Uganda, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland in the mid-1930s. The project involved educational films played by mobile cinemas to educate the black ("bantu") people. About 35 such films, on 16mm, were produced between 1935 and 1937, when the Carnegie grant expired. The project was led by J. Merle Davis, director of the International Missionary Council's Department of Social and Industrial Research; George Chitty Latham, former head of Northern Rhodesia's Education Department; and Major Leslie Allen Notcutt, a former plantation manager in Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of rail transport in Zambia</span>

The history of rail transport in Zambia began at the start of the twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Zambia</span>

The history of the Jews in Zambia goes back to the early 1900s. Jews were always a small community with a notable role in Zambian history. The history of the Jews in Zambia dates to 1901 when it was still under British Colonial rule. Northern Rhodesia was colonized in the 1890s by the British South Africa Company, otherwise known as BSAC. Initially, Northern Rhodesia was split into North-eastern and North-western Rhodesia. However, the BSAC united them in 1911 to form Northern Rhodesia, which has its capital in Livingstone, near Victoria Falls. Among the population of 1 million people, there were 1,500 white residents in Northern Rhodesia, of whom many were the Jewish settlers. Northern Rhodesia became under British Colonial Rule partially so that the British Government could increase the number of white individuals and settlers in the country, which would contribute to a wider strategy to increase the influence that the British has between Kenya and South Africa. The Jewish settlers were one of the dominant ethnic groups and became highly involved in local politics, with prominent Jewish figures driving the push for Zambian independence and African nationalist rhetoric. Northern Rhodesia’s fertile land, World War II, and independence from the British Colonial rule all had a profound impact on both immigration and emigration of Jewish refugees. The Jewish diaspora introduced trade and commerce into the region in both regional and urban areas through cattle trading, ranching, mining, communication networks, storefronts, transport, and butchery, amongst others. The Jewish settlers, whether they are Jewish through origin, birth, marriage, or confession, all formed a small, yet strong community. The Jews in Zambia were a Jewish diaspora cultural and religious settler minority group, which raises concerns about the notion of who is the coloniser, who is the colonised, who is the victim and who is the oppressor. This deems that it can be studied through a postcolonial framework. Following Zambia's independence in 1964, there was a large exodus of Jews and white individuals from the country. In 2022, there remains less than fifty Jews in Zambia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Rhodesia Regiment</span> British colonial regiment

The Northern Rhodesia Regiment (NRR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia. It was formed in 1933 from elements of the Northern Rhodesia Police, which had been formed during Company rule in 1912. Made up of black other ranks and white officers, its motto was "Different in Race, Equal in Fidelity". This motto may have been adopted following native African porters during the First World War being recognised and compensated as couriers by the British.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Olympic Committee of Zambia</span> National Olympic Committee

The National Olympic Committee of Zambia is the National Olympic Committee representing Zambia. It was created in 1951 as the National Olympic Committee of Northern Rhodesia and recognised by the IOC in 1963.

William Sellers was a British colonial health official who introduced experimental instructional methods and propaganda to Nigerian cinema. Sellers was the first director of the Colonial Film Unit, a unit initially developed to explain World War II to the African audience and build war support in the colonies but later became a medium for backing colonial development and the British way of life. Sellers' films had its share of critics, his filming technique was simple repetitive shots and plots with strict literal interpretations that a few other colonial era filmmakers like Julian Huxley felt was boring to the audience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Komboni</span> Informal housing in Zambia

A komboni is a type of informal housing compound or shanty town common to Zambia, particularly the capital city of Lusaka. It is characterized by a low income and a high population density. Kombonis typically began as housing for employees of a particular company, estate, or mine. An estimated 35% of Zambians live in urban areas, and kombonis exist in many of them. It is estimated that 80% of the population of Lusaka live and work in these areas.

Timeline of Zambia (Northern Rhodesia)

References

  1. Burns, James (2013). Cinema and Society in the British Empire, 1895-1940. Springer. p. 74. ISBN   978-1-137-30802-3.
  2. Burns, James (2013). Cinema and Society in the British Empire, 1895-1940. Springer. p. 89. ISBN   978-1-137-30802-3.
  3. Femi Okiremuete Shaka, Colonial and post-colonial African cinema (a theoretical and critical analysis of discursive practices), PhD thesis, Warwick University, 1994, p.114-5
  4. Burns, James (2013). Cinema and Society in the British Empire, 1895-1940. Springer. pp. 118–9. ISBN   978-1-137-30802-3.
  5. 1 2 Kaplan, Irving (1969). Area Handbook for Zambia. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 257–8.
  6. 1 2 Mytton, Graham (2017). "Language and the Media in Zambia". In Sirarpi Ohannessian; Mubanga E. Kashoki (eds.). Language in Zambia. Taylor & Francis. pp. 223–4. ISBN   978-1-351-60516-8.
  7. John Paxton, 'Zambia', The Stateman's Year Book, 1971, pp.1619-1622.
  8. Chisha Mutale, Investigating Public Perception of Zambia News and Information Services in Facilitating Development in Lusaka, Master's thesis, University Of Zambia, 2016, p.5
  9. Fackson Banda, Zambia: Research Findings and Conclusions, African Media Development Initiative, 2006, p.26
  10. Edward Mapp (2007). Frame by Frame III: A Filmography of the African Diasporan Image, 1994-2004. Indiana University Press. p. 146. ISBN   978-0-253-34829-6.
  11. Edward Mapp (2007). Frame by Frame III: A Filmography of the African Diasporan Image, 1994-2004. Indiana University Press. p. 364. ISBN   978-0-253-34829-6.

Further reading