Shungu: The Resilience of a People

The population of Zimbabwe is struggling to survive. Since President Robert Mugabe was democratically elected in 1980, he has gone from knight in shining armor to dictator. In part thanks to his political decisions, Zimbabweans struggle with a plummeting economy, extreme inflation, and epidemics that could have been prevented. Zimbabwean filmmaker and graphic designer Saki Mafundikwa returned to the land of his birth 10 years ago and now realizes how terribly difficult the lives of the Zimbabweans have become. He visits Zimbabweans so he can see everything with his own eyes: a widow toils away in vain on her failing farm; a metalsmith cannot work without his tools and does not know if he will be able to support his third child; a doctor looks on despondently as health care goes from bad to worse. Mafundikwa discovers that virtually no one has a job, that serious food shortages prevail, there is hardly any drinking water, and almost no electricity anymore. The peoples' resilience is their best defense against their situation. In addition to detailing this painful existence, he uses archive footage to throw light on British colonialism in his country, wars, the politics of Mugabe, and the opponents of the dictator, who hope to offer their country a better future.