Welcome to POV!
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
In November of 2017, the country of Zimbabwe's
decades-long political leader, Robert Mugabe,
was the victim of a coup,
ending his 30-year reign.
Tonight's film, President
looks at the aftermath of the coup
and its first election in decades
between Mugabe's replacement, Emmerson Mnangagwa,
and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa
that took place in 2018,
just months after Mugabe's ousting.
Mugabe's legacy as Zimbabwe's ruler is one of corruption.
President explores not only what a challenge it is
trying to maintain or install a democracy
in a politically tumultuous country,
but also how both sides offer different interpretations
of what exactly a democracy is.
With so much at stake in an election,
the film has the usual built-in drama
of political unrest, protests, and assassination attempts
as the struggle for Zimbabwe's future takes shape.
President is directed by Camilla Nielsson.
Nielsson has a long list of awards as a filmmaker.
Just last year, President
won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award
in Vérité Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival.
Her 2014 film Democrats
also explored political unrest in Zimbabwe
and won the Jury Award
for Best Documentary Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Democrats was featured on Independent Lens here on PBS.
Nielsson credits the time she and her crew spent in Zimbabwe
during the making of Democrats
for the unprecedented access she gained
to Nelson Chamisa and others on the President shoot.
If there is a more prominent documentarian when it comes
to shooting politically-charged films in Zimbabwe,
that win awards and appear on PBS...
I am unaware.
President starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.