FAQ

To achieve authenticity as much as possible. People died on the streets because of economic and political unrest in Zimbabwe around August 2018 and we were to start production a couple of months after. We got hasitant to shoot in Zimbabwe and started considering other destinations as SA, Botswana and Nigeria. We actually did pre-production in Nigeria and Botswana. We even got Nigerian visas. However, the quest for authenticity pushed us to pursue production in Zimbabwe. It was not easy but we were successful in many ways such as locations and 99.9% Zimbabwean cast. We also believed in the Zimbabwe is open for projects ideology introduced by the government, yet it was not what we thought. We had done pre-production but the country's instability flips over night. Every letter we wrote to authorities started by reminding them that "You said Zimbabwe is open for projects, we are now here, help us" Although there were numerous system limitations, some departments were very helpful for example the Zimbabwe Parliament and prison officials.

We made an effort to get high-end equipment from diverse movie making friendly countries (South Africa, Nigeria; USA and Canada) to achieve the best quality possible because availability is limited in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe was a big icon and a hero for many; both locally and internationally, that being said, we wanted a big experienced and reputable African actor to play the iconic President. Mr Kazim is an accomplished actor and a person of great repute known for Hotel Rwanda, Black Sails, Criminal minds, Deep State and more. He has over 100 credits on IMDb. We do not have an actor at that level in Zimbabwe. He is also an African like Mugabe, the Pan African ideology. Mugabe was a well known Pan Africanist who valued oneness and African unity. In addition, 99.9% of the cast is Zimbabwean, great authenticity right there, so a drop of diversity is not a bad idea after all. We also chose Mr. Hakeem after reading about his passion to mentor African filmmakers. After shooting we received positive feedback from those who worked with him. We are so grateful that we managed to get him.

Zimbabwe's film industry growth has been very slow because of so many system limitations such as funding, distribution, political restrictions and scarcity of other related resources (Mapfeka, 2018). That being said, we had to source external experts and their state of the art equipment to produce a quality product for us. We also wanted Zimbabwean crew to tap into their experiences and learn. After completion, most of the local crew wrote to us to appreciate the experience they gained from the diverse external crew. They appreciated an opportunity to work with the people of high caliber who made it to Hollywood like Robert O. Peters and Jonathan Kovel.

This is a tricky question with contradictory points in that we strongly expressed gratitude earlier yet, we also strongly express that there are extreme challenges in Zimbabwean Film Industry. Why? because although there are inarguable system challenges in every sector like economically, politically and socially, people are still very much determined, eager and working hard to boost the Zimbabwe film Industry. In addition, because people do not have jobs, for them it was an opportunity to get work and they appreciated. Ninety-eight percent Zimbabweans are not employed and we are very happy that we made a difference by creating employment for many.

Its complicated. You will understand after watching the movie. Its loaded.

Well, maybe mixed feelings of happiness when we celebrate his greatness and sad feelings when he sees his fall, maybe break down at some point, so as his wife Mrs. Grace Mugabe. His presidency was a tough long journey of 4 decades. We have told the truth about his strengths, sad and happy moments. They would surely chuckle at some crazy funny comedic moments.

There are different perspectives here, from his point of view and or his supporters, yes, because he trusted his allies. He did not see it coming because they were his "boys"; it was a shock to him because they were loyal to him. He actually said it in one of the interviews and he was almost tearful. However, others may see it differently and endorse that it was the only option to help him to retire and rest because he was of age and struggling to stay awake at work.

People have a misconception that Hollywood people are the only people who can do big movies. They are misinformed, but they will soon know that the executive producers are Zimbabweans the producers are Zimbabweans, the writers are Zimbabweans and the cast is almost all Zimbabweans telling their own stories. This is one of the biggest stories about Zimbabwe by the Zimbabweans and very happy to have taken this bold step.

No. Some people had been denied entry to shoot Mugabe in 2018 so we made sure that we do it properly. At first, we considered other African countries because we were a bit skeptical but we had to be bold to do what it takes to achieve authenticity. Therefore, we did all our paper work legally and sought permission in a professional way. Our key actor Hakeen, director and lead crew members were all accredited by the Zimbabwe Ministry of information and broadcasting. We paid the standard fee for the shooting licence. We were also vetted by the police at the central police headquarters in a basement and given a clearance to shoot so we were not afraid because our documents were in order. We also had support of some locations officials like the parliament, prison and hospital. If we were doing something against the norm, they would'nt have accommodated us.

Yes. On Mugabe's celebratory moments like Independence, oldest birthday and knighthood events, we could have made them poshier but we had system limitations such as hard to get white people for the queen. One-week immigration equipment hold up and sudden currency flips affected this, and these were told as news. All the same we are happy that we managed to do the best we could to cover key themes of the story. We believe people will enjoy. We are excited to be the first to tell this great story in feature format. Some tried and didn't finish, some were denied entry into the country. We feel grateful that we were welcomed and did the best we could.

Seven.