Before independence, already a cinematographic culture
The first traces of cinema in Zambia date back to the time of the British protectorate. Marcus Grill, a businessman, was probably behind the first open-air screenings that took place in the region in 1917. A monopoly that was to last because in 1931, it was the Grill family that opened the first cinema, in order to show the first Hollywood talking films. The cinema was then exclusively reserved for the colonists, even if a few screenings were organized for the black workers and miners, especially around the Copperbelt mines. The films that were shown were, on the other hand, carefully selected and rigorously controlled by the colonial administration, which took a very dim view of the effect of cinema on the popular masses. At the same time, the first filmmakers, including the missionary J. Merle Davis, filmed in Northern Rhodesia. The country will even see the foundation of a committee of experimentation and cinematographic creation, which produces at the end of the 30s several dozen films with the aim of "civilizing" the local populations. In spite of everything, segregation remained in place, and the big films on the big screens were reserved for the white elite. For the local populations, it was not until the end of the 1950s that the first black cinemas opened, and independence that a national cinema began to develop.
A country of film lovers and directors
Building on this tradition of popular open-air cinemas, Zambia quickly developed a network of mobile screenings. Film-Rovers" were deployed throughout the country in the 1970s. Fully equipped, these cars were able to organize screenings in villages and towns throughout the country, and to show newsreels as well as fiction films in 16mm, a format that was easier to manage in these difficult conditions. At that time, Zambia had about twenty cinemas, and 35 mm cinema was still a privilege of the richest. In spite of a segregation abolished by the law, the black population mostly goes to the more affordable cinemas, often in 16 mm as well. At the same time, a few filmmakers are trying to develop a local industry with the support of Zambia Information Services, but without much success. In recent years, a wind of creation has been blowing through Zambia, through a young generation of dynamic and talented women directors. The most recognized of them, filmmaker Rungano Nyoni, has been shooting in front of and behind the camera since 2009. In 2017, her film I Am Not a Witch won the BAFTA for Best New Writer, British Director after screening at the Directors' Fortnight in Cannes. Revealed through television, and through ever-increasing collaborations with other African production hub countries such as Nollywood, Zambia's King Cassie Kabwita is another of the leading figures of this young generation, bringing Zambian artistic talent to screens across Africa and the world.
International shootings of yesterday and today
Fans of B-movies and adventure films that have gone out of fashion, you will be delighted. Zambia's landscapes and settings, especially in the Victoria Falls region, have been the setting for many such productions. At the end of the 1950s, director George Marshall, who had made his name in Hollywood with Laurel and Hardy, shot Duel in the Jungle (1954). A film featuring Dana Andrews, a famous British B-movie actor in the role of a private detective. While trying to solve the mysterious disappearance of a diamond dealer, Andrews alias Scott Walters finds himself embroiled in a complex plot, to which the intriguing Marian Taylor (Jeanne Crain) is not foreign. The film was shot under difficult conditions, and saw the tragic disappearance of assistant director Tony Kelly, swept away by the waters of the impetuous Zambezi. As a film, Duel in the Jungle is not the most interesting, but it still represents a significant part of Hollywood cinema of this period, and therefore deserves to be discovered.
It is also the case of this other B-movie nugget, perhaps more known because it was produced by Chuck Norris. Allan Quatermain and the City of Lost Gold, released in 1987, also features Victoria Falls and the border region of Zambia and Zimbabwe. If the director - Gary Nelson - is not well known, we find in the cast the great names of Richard Chamberlain(The Towering Inferno), Sharon Stone(Basic Instinct) and James Earl Jones(In Pursuit of Red October), reunited in this film that could not have been born anywhere else than in the 1980s. Halfway between Indiana Jones and Crocodile Dundee, the Allan Quatermain saga may have already thrilled you. If you haven't, go and discover this condensed adventure that borders on the ridiculous, with action scenes that are nevertheless quite impressive. In the worst case, you will have great stories to tell during your visit to the falls.
Seeing movies in Zambia
Today, cinemas have suffered from the arrival of television and the various possibilities offered by digital content. Only three theaters remain in operation in Lusaka, and a handful in the rest of the country. Among these, the Capitol Theatre in Livingstone is one of the oldest in the country. Its Art Deco architecture will delight your eyes, especially if you have the opportunity to go in and see a show. In Lusaka, check out Ster-Kinekor in Manda Hill, a complex that screens both the latest blockbusters and independent films. In Ndola, Livingstone and Lusaka, you can also go to the theaters of the Fresh View Cinemas network, which is more oriented towards the big screen. In spite of everything, and thanks to these chains that hold out against all odds, young and old Zambian moviegoers benefit from a rich program, and most often in the original version.
