Filmmaker
Zimbabwe
A Zimbabwean author and filmmaker who was born 1959 in Mutoko, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and spent part of her childhood in England where she later studied medicine at its Cambridge University but returned home after Zimbabwe was internationally recognized in 1980. After filmmaking studies at Deutsche Film und Fernsehakademie, she realized several acclaimed documentaries and narratives, including Neria, Flame and Everyone's Child. Her ground-breaking short film Mother’s Day was released in 2004. The first volume in her Tambudzai Trilogy Nervous Conditions appeared in 1989 to critical acclaim. This novel was followed by the Book of Not in 2006, which became a founding force behind organizations such as Zimbabwe Association of Community Theatre, the Women's Action Group and Zimbabwe Women Writers. Her third novel Chronicle of an Indomitable Daughter is to appear in 2013. She is currently writing a fantasy set in Africa and a film series based on Zimbabwean folklore. She has received numerous awards for her films and literature. Dangarembga now directs the Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa, which she founded in 2009. She is also on the boards of the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe and was member of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe from 2010 until 2012. She received an Honorary MA Degree from the Women’s University in Africa in 2010, The National Arts Merit Award in 2008 and The Arts Personality of the Year Award in 2007. She chaired Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe from 1998 to 2005 when she made way for other incumbents.
