In 2023, alongside her Matamba Film Lab for Women showcasing creative women in Africa, Zimbabwean producer Siza Mukwedini launched the Matamba Immersiv Festival. A venue for meetings and demonstrations of immersive experiences, it attracted over 1,200 spectators. A first edition that demonstrates the interest of XR on a continent where everything remains to be explored in terms of dedicated cultural events.
Discovering new media with the Matamba Film Lab for Women
Siza Mukwedini – I’m originally a director and producer of classical films, with documentary projects for the BBC and Arte. Recently, TRANSACTIONS was selected for IDFA 2022. And it was while visiting the DocLab in Amsterdam that I had the idea of creating the Matamba Immersiv Festival to offer digital works in my country that are less visible to the public here. There’s a huge amount of work to be done in terms of education and support to present the variety of existing experiences. This first edition is just the beginning of a longer adventure.
S. M. – I’ve always been keen to promote and support the work of African women in audiovisual and new media, and this is at the heart of Matamba Film Labs for Women. There are very few resources in Zimbabwe for women who want to study film, let alone virtual reality. I started out as a film editor 19 years ago, and I’ve never stopped being interested in new ways of telling stories. For new media, I remain a classic director. For film, I’ve become an XR developer! Animation, motion graphics, etc. The stories remain the same, but the formats are evolving, and we have to keep up with this movement. Launching training courses for future directors and technicians is extremely important. In short, we must continue to support relevant stories.
S. M. – In 2018, as I discovered new media, I saw it as a way to support women’s work – and build a stronger ecosystem where women could express themselves, as this remains rare in traditional cinema. And our Matamba Film Lab for Women began with this idea of being able to develop women’s skills – and sometimes men’s too! We give women access to training, equipment and works of art. We’ve had the support of institutions in the UK (the British Council etc.), in particular to take an interest in new media and VR as part of our program. We were able to recover equipment (25 headsets!) from a company that no longer needed them.
S. M. – As part of the Lab, we were able to identify the issues facing women in the cultural industries in Africa. Simple things like meeting other female creators, for example, or access to equipment. We do a lot of seminars, and workshops to test certain techniques or equipment, and train them. We’re also open to discussions with designers in Europe. We had a learning curve in the first phase (2021-2022).
Founding the Matamba Immersiv Festival
S. M. – Matamba Immersiv Festival is destined to embrace many forms of creation. When you consider the range of techniques and projects in this day and age, we needed an event that could introduce our Lab residents or the Zimbabwe public to what’s out there. Before that, I took part in an Electric South workshop in South Africa, which gave us a better understanding of the XR and cultural industries ecosystem. Our first edition took place in autumn 2023, with the surprise that some of the audience came from foreign African countries! Far more than we could have anticipated: we ended up with +1200 visitors.
S. M. – At the festival, we ran a residency program for 3 creative storytellers who were able to use Unity or Unreal to create and present XR prototypes. I continue to go to IDFA as a source of reference for these new initiatives, meeting other professionals from all over the world.
S. M. – The 2023 edition of the Matamba Immersiv Festival is just the beginning of the adventure. We plan to launch other projects in the same vein to support African creation and women. In particular, a stop-motion film. We have limited means, but we’re moving forward with the idea of better understanding all these new environments, promoting the exchange of ideas and materials. And to benefit from a growing and structuring African ecosystem, as well as international interest in helping us.
S. M. – The most important thing for us is the transfer of skills. Yes, we have a lot of hardware, computers and software. But we need experience, connections with the rest of the world. That’s essential if we’re to understand where we’re going. The equipment is out there. The knowledge has to come from our exchanges with the rest of the African countries involved, and even internationally. Next up: our next workshop, where 5 women will be supported in the development of their project (in May).
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