A journey of culture, from Africa to Santa Fe

“I never thought about traveling to there and had no reason to go there,” she explains. “As I slept on the offer, the spirits came to me and told me that I had an amazing opportunity. I had an open invitation and access to rural villages and its villagers. I realized that I had to go.”

As McCandless prepared for the trip, she thought about the angle for the documentary.

The result is the 75-minute “From Zimbabwe to Santa Fe,” which will have its New Mexico premiere on Tuesday, July 10, at The Screen in Santa Fe. After the premiere, there will be a question-and-answer session with McCandless and editor Katie Cook.

The film follows three women from two Zimbabwean tribes from Masendu and Siansundu.

They women are:

♦ Gogo Habele Nlovu – A Masendu’s master basketmaker and a respected elder. In her 60s, her face a map of life’s experiences and she is the story’s “sage.” Widowed early, she supported her children and now supports her grandchildren by bartering her baskets for food. She manages her homestead, raises grandchildren and serves as a cultural leader.

♦ Sindiso Malebeqwa – An attractive ambitious middle-aged mother whose husband is a domestic worker in South Africa, she lives an orderly, busy life on her homestead with two of her three sons. As head of Masendu Ward’s natural resources, a volunteer position, she enjoys special social standing. Malebeqwa speaks a little English, hence her role as Nlovu’s interpreter.

♦ Matron Mwembe – She is a 22-year-old orphan from Siansundu, who parents her two younger sisters and leads the area’s basketmakers. The story’s most complicated character, you can’t help rooting for Matron, who tells us “courage” is her mantra.

McCandless says the film opens with the Masendu management committee gathered under the broad thatched roof of their community center, where they are discussing who is the best person to represent them.

“In making the film, I was curious about what happens when the artists that attend the folk market go back home,” she explains. “I was also interested in following the journey of the artists as they applied (for the folk art market) and made their way to Santa Fe.”

The film was shot over 18 months, and McCandless spent a total of three months in Zimbabwe.

Most documentaries aren’t filmed without the director on set but she used email to stay in contact with her videographer.

“Communication was difficult because the two of us use different styles when it comes to filming,” she says. “I also had to be very detailed in my descriptions and often envisioned the scene in my head and hope it played out like I saw it.”

Another hurdle that McCandless had to overcome was obtaining the film. She says the videographer would send her the footage after each shoot by mail.

“It amounted to about 10 hours of footage per shoot,” she says. “I would view it and log it. At the end of shooting, we had about 108 hours of footage.”

McCandless says she wants the audience to feel like they have an intimate relationship with the women featured in the documentary.

She also hopes the audience understands how rural Zimbabweans live.

“I want people to feel like these are their sisters and have that kind of familiarity with them,” she explains. “The should come away feeling much closer to the people of southern Africa.

“This isn’t your typical African documentary. There is no bloodshed, there are no atrocities, the women in the film aren’t victims and it’s not focusing on the trauma topics that are often covered. This is a look into the lives of the artists and their journey to sell their goods.”

SEND ME YOUR TIPS: If you know of a movie filming in the state, or are curious about one, email film@ABQjournal.com. Follow me on Twitter at @agomezART.

If you go
WHAT: “From Zimbabwe to Santa Fe”
WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 10
WHERE: The Screen, 1600 St. Michael’s Drive, Santa Fe
HOW MUCH: $5 at the door