Zimbabwean film takes first prize at UN festival spotlighting gender-based violence

A Zimbabwean director has taken first prize in an Africa-wide film festival organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to heighten awareness about gender-based violence across the continent.

At a ceremony last Thursday, Tawanda Gunda-Mupengo received $1,000 for his film, Spell My Name, which tells the story of a young teacher who discovers that one of her students has been sexually abused by the school’s headmaster.

Mr. Gunda-Mupengo’s film was one of 84 entries from 18 countries which were included in the pan-African film festival, held in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.

UNFPA’s representative in Senegal, Suzanne Maiga-Konate, said a “culture of silence” across Africa has helped to stigmatize and discriminate against the victims of gender-based violence. Many rapes go unreported because victims fear ostracism from their local community and an unsympathetic legal system.

“We want an end to society’s rejection of these victims to promote an environment where survivors can alleviate their distress and seek justice,” she said.

Aside from screening the competition films, the festival held panel discussions in Dakar that included lawmakers, religious leaders and journalists. The films were also shown at local centres for adolescents and will then travel to Senegal’s rural regions of Tambacounda, Kolda and Matam, before heading to other African nations.

Alia Nankoe, a UNFPA programme officer and one of the festival’s organizers, said “we want these films to go to other African countries to make others aware of the issues and reduce the stigma associated with the epidemic of violence the continent is facing.”