Staff ReporterA Danish film production company is suing the Zimbabwean government for blocking the screening of a documentary about Nelson Chamisa, a presidential candidate in the 2018 elections. The censorship board barred the film, citing the potential for violence ahead of the upcoming harmonized elections.
Final Cut for Real, the Danish firm behind the documentary, argues that the decision to ban the film by the Censorship and Entertainment Control Unit is unconstitutional. The company has filed a lawsuit in Harare, naming Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe and Zimbabwe’s Attorney General as defendants.
According to Chris Mhike, the lawyer representing Final Cut for Real, the company was forced to take legal action after the Board of Appeal showed no interest in the issue. Mhike stated that it is unconstitutional to prevent Zimbabweans from watching the film, which covers electoral fraud in the 2018 elections and other topics.
The film, titled “President,” was directed by Camilla Neilson and premiered at Sundance earlier this year, where it received the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award. Neilson and her team previously produced “Democrats,” a Zimbabwean film which won the Best Documentary Feature award at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2015.
