Bonus: RISE (2025) - Tribeca Premiere Recap

I had the absolute joy of attending the World Premiere of the short film RISE at the world-famous Tribeca Film Festival! 

Inspired by the life of Tobias Mupfuti, RISE is written and directed by Jessica J Rowlands, executive produced by ZimExcellence fave Joe Njagu, and stars the ever-charismatic Tongayi Chirisa alongside breakout star Sikhanyiso Ngwenya.

In this episode, I share my reflections from the screening, thoughts on the film, and the significance of this milestone for both Zimbabwean and African cinema. From a community celebration in NYC to witnessing the rise of a young star. Tune in to hear why this film made me laugh, almost cry, and feel proud. 

🎧🎙️ Up next: I will share initial reactions from the audience and behind-the-scenes conversations with the creative team!

For more information: 

Website: https://risezimbabwe.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rise.zimbabwe

Cast & Credits

Directed and Written by Jessica J. Rowlands

Producer

Joe Njagu

Cinematographer

Jacques Naudé

Composer

Max Uldahl

Editor

Paul Watts, Roman Kuznets

Executive Producer

Tobias Mupfuti, Tongayi Chirisa, Elizabeth Morse Gilcreast, Barbara Lettieri, Juliette Duran

Key Production Team

Joe Njagu, Nakai Matema, Leonard Matsa, Philip Marumha, Taurai Kawara, Wilson Biswell

Camera/Lighting Team

Jacques Naudé, Diogo Domingues, Farai Chimombe, Gregory Shambare, Nigel Ncube

Art Department & Sound

Mmeli Mabhikwa, Kelli Barker, Kundai Mandivheyi, Chelsea Mangwiro, Kuda Sombi, Simon

Original Vocals & Music

Hope Masike, Tawanda T Maoneni, Mokoomba, David HD Hondoyedzomba, Leo Magozz, Jah

Cast

Tongayi Chirisa, Sikhanyiso Ngwenya, Edmet Dube, Kelvin Taliana, Cilemeko Tickey Mudenda, Charles Ndlovu, Prudence Mubaiwa, Samson Mdimba, Phineas Makuvaza, Tobias Mupfuti

Contacts

International Sales + US Contact

Jessica Rowlands
Rise Zimbabwe Ltd
Victoria Falls, 263
Phone: +447956619515
jessicajrowlands@gmail.com

Press Contact

Jessica Rowlands
Rise Zimbabwe Ltd
Victoria Falls, 263
Phone: +447956619515
jessicajrowlands@gmail.com

#ZimExcellence #RISEFilm #Tribeca2025 #ZimbabweToTheWorld

Transcript

Intro : Yo! Welcome to the party! Hello! Makadini. Salibonani. My name is Vongai and you’re listening to ZimExcellence, a weekly celebration of Zimbabwe’s changemakers and trailblazers. So here’s the secret y’all Zimbabweans are actually DOPE AF and it’s just time that we recognize it. So grab yourself a plate of sadza, grab that Stoney ginger beer and let the party begin! 

I’m baaaaack and welcome to this SPECIAL series of ZimExcellence episodes celebrating the film RISE.  

How are y’all doing? I hope you’re well thriving and surviving. I’m hanging in there myself. 

Anyway, let’s get into it. On June 8th 2025,  I had the pleasure of attending the World Premiere of the short film RISE at Tribeca Film Festival aka my favourite film festival in the world. Why is this special? Well, RISE marks the first Zimbabwean film to screen at the festival which by the way is an Oscar qualifying fest…IYKYK. 

I was also fortunate to then be invited to a celebratory lunch with the New York-based Zimbabwean community and honestly, it was really really cool being in a space with Zimbabweans who aren’t necessarily a part of the entertainment industry but came to support , they were open, they asked questions and left with a little bit more insight that they came in with. 

Back to the film. It is inspired by the life of Tobias Mupfuti, the film is written and directed by Jessica J Rowlands (no relationship to Kelly), executive produced by friend to the show Mr. Joe Njagu. It also stars Mr. Tongayi Chirisa and introducing newcomer to the big screen Sikhanyiso Ngwenya. I may also refer to him as Sikha throughout this episode.

Okay without giving too much about what it’s about…[puts on voice] Vongai’s what the film about? Why we gotta see this film? Okay without giving too much about what it’s about, here’s the logline of the film.

“A charismatic young boy who lives on a rubbish dump in Zimbabwe convinces a reclusive boxing coach to teach him to fight in a world that has left him behind.”

Sit with that. Sit with that image. 

Anyway on to my thoughts…

The film is absolutely heartwarming. The shots captured by Jacques Naudé were stunning, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Zimbabwe captured or depicted the way it was on screen. There were beautiful shots of Victoria Falls, Harare and Zimbabwe’s landscape in general. Honestly you could press pause at any time and the images are so beautiful. They are like paintings but they also  tell such a clear visual story. It warmed my heart knowing it was shot on location in Zimbabwe and not only boosted the local economy but created opportunities for local talent. It was also inspiring to hear about the audition process that took part in Binga, Hwange and Victoria Falls. 

This film which is a short film I have a run time of 22mins. It screened in the Hopes and Dreams block of short films. For context, I believe there were 6,000 short films submitted to Tribeca and only 19 were selected and RISE, I believe was 1 of 6 in this specific block. Just chew on this information so you can understand just how…HOW big of a deal this is and how big of a feat and an accomplishment this is. I mean I starred in a film (we’re not gonna talk about it) many years ago that was submitted to festivals like Tribeca and Sundance…and never got in. RISE did which should tell you just and speak to the quality and just how good the filmmaking is in this film. Anyway not to go off on a tangent. This film screened in the Hopes and Dreams block of short films. It is definitely a film about hopes, dreams, fighting and never giving up. 

This coming-of-age story is inspirational. It features beautiful music and beautiful vocals from THEE Hope Masike. It’s written well. It just paces well. It never feels like it’s going too slow. The on-screen…a lot of you are probably like Vongai where is this coming from? Is this the actor in you? [chuckles]. Um…just a reminder y’all I have a film degree so I used to write about films at university for my assignments so this is just like who I am. Anyway, the on-screen chemistry between Tongayi and Sikha was absolutely endearing. Despite being a film about adversity this film has a lot of heart and it is so FUNNY. The film screened at the end of the film of maybe 6 total films and there were just so many moments of laughter, applause, awws and gasps and general engaged audience participation. It is a very powerful film and I know and believe that this film is going to go very very far. So I’d like to say congratulations to the cast, crew and supporters behind RISE. This is just the beginning of many many more moments on this film festival run. I truly believe it. 

Honestly, this might also be the beginning of a very promising career for Sikhanyiso Ngwenya who earlier this year made history as the youngest actor to ever win a NAMA Award for his role in this film. And for those of you wondering ‘Vongai what is a NAMA Award?’ Think of it as Zimbabwe’s Grammys, Emmys, NAACP Image Award and Oscars all wrapped in one. After the Tribeca screening there were lines of people asking Sikha’s mom if they could all take selfies with him. Wildest thing I’ve ever seen. Felt like witnessing the rise of a child star in real time. 

I feel like this moment has redefined what is possible for the Zimbabwean industry and filmmaking on the African continent. This moment is a reminder that there are lot of beautiful voices and untold stories just waiting to be shared. This is truly an inspiring film that is going to bring us together and it is art that deserves to be seen right now more than ever. Let me know when the Kickstarter goes out for the feature film. It needs to be made, let’s get it made. I’ll keep you posted for where and when they will screen next so the listeners can get their tickets and attend. 

Coming up in this special series of episodes, I will be sharing the audience reactions and also conversations I was fortunate to have with some of the creative team. If you are over on Instagram or Threads, I’m posting videos and cute little recaps. So if you also want to check that out, it’s gonna be a different experience to what I’m offering here on the podcast. The podcast will be more long-form and extended. Thanks for checking out this episode. I will check you out on the next one. Til then, stay safe and bless up. 

Outro : Mazvita. Tatenda. Siyabonga. Thank you so much for tuning in to this week’s episode of ZimExcellence.  If you found value from this episode please share it with a friend and go ahead and subscribe, rate and review. 

If you send me a screenshot of your review I’ll make sure to give you a shoutout on future episodes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram. @zimexcellencepodcast

And if you identify as Zimbabwean I want to hear your story so go ahead and email zimexcellencepodcast@gmail.com. Til then have the best week and stay ZimExcellent!