On April 5, 2025, we were very privileged to attend the private film screening of Residue, a short film conceived and brought to life by Jabu Mudzvova, who is undoubtedly one of the most exceptionally brilliant filmmakers to come out of this country. And it would not be a misplaced thing to say it generally exceeded the expectations of everyone who was in attendance. Those privy to Jabu's works know that he is remarkably awesome at what he does, judging from his first film For A Few Dollars More (a NAMA-nominated film), but with Residue, it was evidently clear that only the sky is the limit for him. Hell, he is the type of writer and director to even go beyond the sky. Because for us, that is how powerful the film Residue is.
The most striking thing about Jabu's films is that they deviate from the conventional way that most Zimbabwean films are done. His works do not follow the usual tropes and storylines. Instead, his writing often takes visceral turns, leaving you thinking hard and longing for more when the film ends. Which is the outstanding part about his approach to film—with an undying commitment to excellence, Mudzvova's way of doing film is rooted in intellectual fortitude. And who doesn't like that? The only downside, perhaps, is that he is operating in an environment where the consumption of such art is minimal, but that should not even provide any ground for such powerful art to be diminished. And while on that, the turnout at the film screening, which was hosted at Artopia in Mt Pleasant, Harare, exceeded the organisers' expectations. If such support could then be translated to wider audiences ....
But back to the film. Residue could come off as an avant-garde piece. And who says we can't have such stuff in Zimbabwe. Despite Residue being a zero budget film, it was made in a way that you would think the team parted with a significant amount of money. But that was not the case. The film being zero budget is testament to the unwavering dedication that Jabu Mudzvova, as a writer and director, is filled with. And that's where The Authors come into play. The screening was made possible through the noble efforts of The Authors, an art collective committed to pushing new frontiers for creating art the way they envision it, using whatever resources they have. And the screening was part of The Authors' way to assess whether or not there is local demand for the art they are creating, and the response – through all those who attended – was very encouraging.
Residue is a film about the experiential journey of the rather messed up type of lives that some people live in Zimbabwe—on a purely emotional plane. And this is a journey told in black and white (Jabu did mention that making it in black and white was the fun thing to do, originally they'd wanted to release it in colour but well, and apparently, there was no fun in that). The film follows the stories of the main characters, Ulysses (played by AneUnhu Gwatidzo) and Nom (played by Chloe Ncube), who are entwined in an extremely toxic relationship and everything that comes with that. Although we are told of the toxic nature of their relationship, the major part of the film centres on scenes in which Ulysses and Nom are together, trying to pick back pieces of whatever left to salvage from their entanglement. Just when you think they could have been getting back together, they are interrupted by Nom's mother, a dreadful character played by Charmaine Mujeri (and OMG, she killed this role!) Ulysses' fear of Nom's mother is brought out vividly and Jabu's cinematography, throughout the film's entire scenes, is just breathtaking. And take note, this is not an understatement. It truly is breathtaking. Brilliant shots and all that throughout.
What follows next is an explosive clash between the mother and the main character, in which a lot of traumatizing details are brought to the fore. The mother's fit of fury is so tense that you cannot help but cut some slack for Ulysses and Nom. But just when you are about to feel some pity for these characters, Jabu makes it a point to tell us that all of them have dirty hands. Ulysses, a 28-year-old bachelor from Glen Lorne who still lives with his parents, has put Nom, a 23-year-old lady, in a precarious position. We are told he dragged Nom's name on Twitter (now X), and he threatened to kill himself; and that he was the reason why Nom did not move to Europe. Nom's mother stresses how much Ulysses is the reason for Nom being such a disappointment. But then we also learn that Nom had a very traumatic childhood, through the pain she suffered at the hands of her parents who chased her out of the house when she was only 10. Although there is a toxic relationship between Nom and Ulysses, Nom's mother turns out to be a bigger version of the word toxic. The film ends without any strife being resolved. We are left to wonder the fate of the characters' lives given everything they went through.
There is a lot of back and forth in the film in terms of present scenes and flashbacks, and you can get to see what Jabu is trying to convey. The film concludes with a scene in which Ulysses' car breaks down, and a stranger helps him fix it. But the residues of all those flashbacks in which the characters fought with such a dreadful mother remain lingering – and the essence of the film's title becomes clear. After everything unfolds, what remains is trauma – a lot of it.
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| Jabu Mudzvova at the film screening |
Jabu Mudzvova is inspired by intense dialogue, and the film is full of that. At some point the film is anxiety-inducing, and that speaks volumes about the power of Jabu's writing. He wrote it at a time when he was battling some life frustrations and he wrote it as a way to release what he was going through. Previously, I used the word 'avant-garde' to describe the film—and that is because it is inspired by the 'French New Wave' which was an art movement that emerged in France in the 1950s and 60s. It emphasized a rejection of conventional ways of doing film in favour of experimentation. Which is precisely what Jabu Mudzvova does with Residue. He explores existential themes in the film, which is what the French New Wave was about. So, besides being an excellent filmmaker, he is also an outstanding film historian and infused this into his art. There is an interesting part from a review that was done by Russell Dhlakama about the film and it is right I reproduce that part here:
The most interesting thing I learnt about in my brief foray into the French New Wave was the idea of auteur theory. Or the idea of the director of a film conveying their artistic ideas through film, a shift from the previous status quo at the time of studio-designed films. In what may be seen as a coincidental parallel, Residue was my first time witnessing auteur theory in action in Zimbabwean film.Because inasmuch as the film was very grounded in a set of very Zimbabwean experiences like other Zimbabwean films I’ve seen, this was the first time where I couldn’t ignore the director and their team’s artistic choices and flourishes to focus on “what the message was”.
The film does not have a happy ending—everything is left hanging. There is no redemption for the characters, and perhaps this was Jabu's way of saying sometimes in real life some troubling issues never get resolved, and people bear the weight of that trauma till they depart the planet. All this is a result of the flowstate he gets in when writing, where he is possessive of his stories and tries to paint life for what it truly is.
Jabu mentioned there are plans to present Residue to international audiences, and this would be a good representation of Zimbabwean art. Regardless of its short nature, I am of the firm opinion that Residue takes Zimbabwean film to the next level.
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