FULL HOUSE(S) AT QINISO PREMIERE

If I were to be asked to describe the premiere of Lenni Mdawini's movie Qiniso that premiered at Rainbow Cinema in one word I would say it was HOT.

The Ndebele word Qiniso means truth in English and so in the spirit of the movie’s theme I will tell nothing but the TRUTH in this review of the premiere which took place on Saturday night.

Raisedon Baya and Priscilla Sithole

With Awande Mpofu

The HOT people of Bulawayo came in their numbers and were dressed to the nines.

I came into an already packed foyer when I made my way into the cinema complex just after six o’clock.

And it was HOT, literally speaking.

The air conditioning system must have been out of order and in a matter of minutes I was already sweating like I was in a sauna.

I quickly spotted the refreshment area and made a beeline for it but upon getting there I was told the drinks were for VIPs only.

I wasn’t on the VIP list and neither had I bought a VIP ticket but I was not going to walk away without getting some refreshment.

So I told the girl who was manning the refreshment area that I am the HOTTEST blogger in Bulawayo and that qualified me to be a VIP.

I don’t know if she was a good sport or she was just not in the mood for a hot and flustered blogger making a scene but she sportingly played along and after some banter I left with a glass of juice in my hand.

And on my way back to my hubby – who was my cameraman for the day by the way – I grabbed a Lalani Lodge flyer that I used to fan myself as we waited for proceedings to get underway.

Red carpet moment with hubby

The poster had said the premiere would start at 6 pm but we only made our way into the City 3 cinema after more than an hour and a half later.

Technical glitches inside the cinema saw another half an hour going by with proceedings only getting underway around 8 pm.

They say the early bird catches the early worm and those who were quick to make their way into the cinema – including me of course – got seats while hordes of other premiere goers found their selves standing.

                                                                                                                And the situation was further compounded by the fact that there were technical problems with the projector and the attempt by the organisers to provide some entertainment to keep the crowd occupied fell flat until they brought in comedian Ntando van Moyo – The General (he was the MC at my wedding by the way).     

Nowhere to sit.....

The Master of Ceremony for the night was Donna Ncube, a well spoken young lady who did her best to contain the crowd.

Donna

Remember how it was back in the day at the cinema, whereby you would have that one or two individuals who would make or pass funny comments? 

This was no exception, but mostly it was all fun and harmless jokes aimed at Donna.

Everyone was so eager for the movie to start and at some point before Ntando came to the rescue, a section of the crowd started chanting movie! movie!..... and this while some entertainers were going through their act.

I won’t mention their names – lest I kill their vibe kkkkk.

Ntando van Moyo - The General to the rescue

A trailer of another Lenni Mdawini flick entitled Jane the ghost preceded Qiniso the movie. Yes that is right, Jane the Ghost.

And if you grew up in Bulawayo then you know pretty well the tales of this ghost. This trailer brought back memories in my mind, the days of Jane the Ghost were days when most people were still home and life was all sweet, before our people left in droves for other countries.

After the eight minutes long trailer, Qiniso the movie then started rolling.

We find a female journalist (played by Bokani Nleya), who has been assigned by her no nonsense boss (played by Gilmore Tee) to investigate the death of a top Bulawayo lawyer who was murdered by someone close to him.

This is what happens when the cameraman is your husband...

The story is told in flashbacks by the journalist who first discusses it with her boss and then narrates it to a colleague and then tells it to the taxi driver who ferries her around the city as she battles with work and relationship issues.

In the story, the lawyer, Nkosana Dube, is found murdered with two ladies, his wife and her cousin being the prime suspects.

 The two ladies and Dube’s brother give their versions of what transpired and this ends up making the story very intriguing as we now have more than one version of the TRUTH but as one tries to work out who is telling IQINISO and who is lying, a spirit medium and the detective working the case weigh in with their own versions of what could have happened.

So for those of you who watch the SABC 2 soapie Muvhango you will agree with me on that the spirit medium reminded us of the great healer of Thathe, Mulimisi, kkkkkk.

This medium had the whole house roaring with laughter, am not sure what he was on about but he was speaking in some weird language kkkkkk.

 So now the medium also comes up with his own theory of events of the day Nkosana Dube was murdered. This was were the movie won me over because when the journalist was narrating the story to the taxi driver I was like yeah yeah now I know who killed Nkosana Dube between the two cousins named Zanele and Nanetti,  Nanetti being Nkosana “s wife.

But I won’t spoil the movie by telling you all about it. 

Well, my opinion of the movie is that it is a very great and promising start considering that this is our first movie in Bulawayo and I say Kudos guys.

Great acting skills from Lady Tshawe, who played the character of Zanele. She will go places if she keeps at it. (A lil' bit of vicks would have done the trick on the crying scenes though).

Now the picture quality was a bit poor, am sure that next time that is something that can be improved.

My biggest worry was that the sound was not aligned to the movements of the lips. It was more like that of the Telemundo channel, and those that watch Telemundo know what I am on about.

I also think that the use of sub-titles would have been welcome if the movie is to reach a wider audience.

 Other than that there is nothing I can take away from this movie, I personally believe that if they were working on a bigger budget it could have been a 9 out of 10 for me. But all the same I give it an 8 out 10, and a lot of people I spoke with seemed to have had the same sentiments as I.

So to the writer and director Lenni Mdawini and to all the actors and actresses this is only the beginning, this was a teaser of what you guys are capable of doing with the right financial aid and  proper  equipment.

You may have felt a bit HOT under the collar when things where not moving on Saturday but please do not throw in the towel; keep pushing because the talent is there hey!

All you need is people to see the potential and invest in our film industry.

Journalist Letwin Nyambayo, right, and Tarisai Madenga 

And l would love to say Oh Beautiful Kings and Queens what a turn out, you came in your numbers to show support to this movie. May it not stop here but let us continue to support our brothers and sisters.

It was wonderful seeing UMTHWAKAZI OMUHLE coming out in a full show of support and l couldn’t help but smile and say ‘this is my city and I am amongst my people tonight.’

#RISEBULAWAYO!!!!!!!

God Is Love