Kärringen därnere : www.manusgruppen.se Jacob Chikuhwa

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My interest in filming started when I hired a video
camera in July 1999 when we were preparing to go back
to Zimbabwe. After enjoying the scenes of what I had
filmed during our tours to Helsinki, Tallinn and the
film I made of the most interesting places in
Stockholm, I bought a video camera, which I took to
Zimbabwe. There I started filming wedding parties and
other interesting scenarios; political rallies and
then a documentary on Zimbabwe, which I produced into
a documentary film. Before fleeing back to Sweden, I
had embarked on a film on HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe. I want
to remind you that I had not learned to write a film
manuscript up that stage. What I did with the AIDS
film "Venturing into the Unknown" was that I simply
wrote notes on scenes and locations that I was going
to film. I got two main actors, a boy and a girl, who
have become my "star" actors and told them my story.
The filming was spontaneous. However, a friend in
Zimbabwe involved in the drama business advised me
that I would need to have a script if I wanted to
succeed.

When I came back to Sweden at the end of April 2002, I
started to look for organisations that could help me
edit my film - the first episode of Venturing into the
Unknown. I got the name of Maria Cederquist, the
President of Cinema Africa. She told me that she was
not interested because they had their on projects and
would not find time to deal with me. However, she
promised to talk about me with her colleagues and see
if there is anyone interested in helping me. That was
the end of the story. One day as I sat in the
Underground, I was reading Metro. I never used to read
the "nöje" section of the paper. But on that day I
decided to read the whole paper and I could not
believe my luck when I saw the article "Ung och gamla
skriver manus till film". When I got home, I behaved
like a small child given some "goddis". My wife's
comment was, "They say that when people are getting
old, they behave like children. Now I believe them."
For me it was like I had discovered a gold mine. I
still have the Metro article in my file with Ragnar di
Marzo, Fredrik Lindquist and Projekt kallas
"Manusgruppen" all shaded in yellow. The rest about
how I got in touch with you is now history.

I must admit that right from the word go, I found the
experience with the group very refreshing. Besides the
ideas I have acquired from you and Fredrik, I find
members of the group very friendly. I got very close
to Lars Cuzner, but unfortunately he left for Russia
and the Fareast before we could do anything together.
I have found Akbar Zolgharnain interesting. Most of
all I have found you, Ragnar, very welcoming and warm.
It was from you I got to know about Film Centrum, of
which I have become a member. They run courses on how
to edit a film and I intend to go for such a course.

Ragnar, I am sorry that I seem not to take an active
part in the deliberations of the Manusgruppen. It is
not because I am not interested or have nothing to
say. After living ten years in Zimbabwe, I seem to
have lost touch with my Swedish language. With time, I
think I will catch up.

My personal life is that I was born on September 24,
1940 in the Honde Valley, in Zimbabwe's Eastern
Highlands. I was brought up in a Christian
environment, my father (c. 1879-March 3, 1972) having
been an Anglican-mission school teacher for almost
twenty-four years. Although my mother (c. 1901-Aug. 5,
1991), like my father, was from a typical traditional
family, she was a devout believer in Christianity.
Being one of twin brothers, I almost became a victim
of Shona religious belief. In those days it was
considered taboo to give birth to twins. According to
tradition, the younger twin was to be got rid of
without delay.

Because of my parent's Christian belief, I survived to
go on to study at Hartzell Secondary School, Old
Mutare. After obtaining the Cambridge School
Certificate, I briefly worked as a school teacher. In
1964, I was employed as a postmaster trainee in
Harare. In September of the same year, I was detained
for my political activities at Wha Wha Detention Camp
until I was released in March 1965.

I briefly worked as a bookkeeper in Bulawayo while
playing soccer for Eastlands FC before going into
exile in Zambia in 1966. In 1967 I went to the former
Soviet Union where I studied economics at the Kiev
Institute of National Economy in Ukraine. Having
specialised in Finance and Banking, I was awarded an
M.Sc. (Econ.) degree in 1972.

At the end of that year, I came to Stockholm, Sweden
where I did post-graduate studies in Economic
Integration and International Relations. Between 1974
and 1976, I was ZANU's Chief Publicity Officer
responsible for the Nordic countries, Austria and West
Germany. In September 1976 I got a job in the economic
department of the Post Office Industries where I was
employed until January 1981 before I returned to
Zimbabwe.

In May 1981 I was employed by the Posts and
Telecommunications Corporation (PTC) as manager of the
newly created Economics and Statistics Branch. In July
1986 I joined the Zimbabwe Football Association as
Director of Administration: Finance and Personnel.
After a brief but turbulent period at ZIFA House, I
left at the end of the 1987 soccer season and joined
the Harare Polytechnic as a lecturer in both the
Bachelor of Technology Programme and the National
Diploma course.

In October 1989 I came back to Sweden where I
eventually joined the economic department of the Post
Office Administrative Service. I went on to become a
Byrådirektör with the Post Office Internal Audit in
1994. In September 1999 I got a consultancy job with
the United Nations to help small companies in Zimbabwe
to create computerised accounting systems. I
subsequently became the Co-ordinator for International
Affairs of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),
the official opposition party in the Zimbabwean
Parliament. After the Presidential election, violence
continued to be used against MDC supporters. It was on
10 April 2002 that I was captured by ZANU (PF) thugs
and severely tortured in one of their torture
chambers. I had to run away for my life back to Sweden
where I have been getting treatment at the Red Cross
Hospital.

I am married with two children. My wife is from
Ukraine and our first born (30) is with the United
Nations Peacekeeping Force in Sierra Leone, after
having worked at the UN HQ in New York City for a
couple of years. Our daughter (24) is with the UN
Secretariat in New York City working as a guide. She
did psychology at the University of Cape Town before
joining the UN in February this year.

 


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