Zambia – Ulendo Wa Rose (Rose’s Journey)

Transmission date: Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Language: Nyanja, Tonga and English with English subtitles

Love can heal

A touching story about a young HIV-positive orphan in need of care and support. But can her unhappy aunt and uncle accept and love her as their own?

Story synopsis

Stella looks at a photograph of her little boy, Moonga. He would have been three today. Then the phone rings and it is Dorcas. Ba Maggie, her late brother’s wife has died and they are expected at the funeral. Stella and her husband, Mainza, drive in silence to Lusaka. Maggie has left behind her young daughter Rose, and it is now their responsibility to care of her. The family thinks Stella and Mainza should take her as Rose is her late brother’s child, after all. But Stella does not want her. It is only Uncle Elias who will take the little girl. But Uncle Elias has little money and it is a long walk to the clinic to get her HIV medication. So, after some time Rose is sent to Stella and Mainza. Can Stella come to terms with her own loss and reach out to accept and love Rose as her own?

Director: Chris Puta

*Chris on the training, making the film and the Zambian industry
 
‘Some of the people I worked with produce soap operas. They have no funding, they have no income whatsoever, they just work on their product. But you can see the talent is there, the creativity is there.

I know why Zambians will watch this film. We support our local productions, we really want to see ourselves succeed and I know it will get support. Apart from that, I know that the production is a true depiction of what is going on in society. We’ve done our best to keep it as genuine as possible without making it too commercial or too (for lack of a better term) ‘Hollywood’. We’ve tried to do justice to the story. I’ve watched people watching it and you can see emotional reactions. The editor cried at the end. These are the things that I look for. Because if you don’t feel it emotionally, then it’s just been a waste of time.

While making the film, we had power outages, people not showing up we, had it all – would I do it again? Definitely! Would I do it differently? Definitely! Not that we did it wrong – but we’ve grown out of it.’

Bio

In 1987, Chris moved to Lusaka, Zambia from Yugoslavia, where as a member of a local Pentecostal church, he became involved with the music ministry.
At university, Chris crossed paths with a long-time director/screenwriter, Jeff Sitali, who at the time ran an advertising agency. He engaged Chris to compose a jingle. This relationship was later to grow into a seven-year partnership. Subsequently, he collaborated on a number of projects with a variety of production houses and advertising companies. The most notable of these is Viswa Productions under Swatulani Munthali.
Chris’ 12-year production career includes over 40 commercials and five documentaries. He currently co-owns an entertainment company with live sound equipment, audio studios and some video gear.

Writer: Kambandu Malingose

The Lusaka-born Kambandu Malingose completed her studies in communications and health sciences in the USA and took on further independent study in screenwriting, where she developed her interest in the TV and film industry. Moving to London, she worked for Raindance Productions as a reader. Since returning to Lusaka in 2004, she has produced two short films and is currently working on several documentaries. The scriptwriting course has inspired her to fine-tune her skills to write for film, so that she can contribute to the development of the TV industry in Zambia. Untold is her first drama film for television.

Producer: Swatulani Munthali   

Zambian-born Swatulani studied at university and worked in the USA. He returned to Zambia in 1970 and became CEO of the Posts and Telecommunications Corporation of Zambia in 1987.

On retirement in 1991, he decided to develop his lifelong passion for videography. After attending television production courses in Zambia, he set up a production house in 2000 – Viswa Productions. The exposure to script writing and production under the Soul City Programme has greatly enhanced his knowledge. Swatulani has directed and produced a number of commercials and documentaries. Untold is his first drama production.