Masvingo teen stars in human wildlife ‘Konflict’ film

THIRTEEN YEAR OLD Masvingo learner Elizabeth Mhike’s acting stunts enthralled an audience of wildlife delegates who attended the USAID Resilience Anchors workshop on human wildlife con ict on Wednesday.

The audience became the rst to have a glimpse of the lm which is yet to be completed, dubbed Konflict written and directed by Sydney Taivashe, shot by Vusa ‘Blaqs’ Hlatshwayo and Tinovimba Joe Huruba doing the sound.

Konflikt follows the story of Kundai, a young girl who dreams of becoming a game ranger protecting wildlife.

She lives in a village that is adjacent to a game park and the community is in constant con ict with wildlife, which is making life di cult for them.

“It was not hard acting in the lm as I have been involved in a number of lms. I wish this lm takes us to greater heights out of the country. I am happy that the viewers who had a glimpse of the lm loved it and we can’t wait to share it with the rest of the world,” said Mhike.

Taivashe said it was not the rst time working with Mhike.

“The school girl is my niece and she has been acting since she was three. She was part of the cast of a NAMA winning

lm as a lead. We auditioned her for this role in December 2021 and that's how she got the part," said Taivashe.

"I have always had a huge interest in wildlife and raising awareness on di erent issues in society through lm. When I was making my critically acclaimed anti-poaching awareness lm, GonarezhouThe Movie, I learnt about human wildlife con ict. Prior to making the lm I wasn’t fully aware of how deep human-wildlife con ict is and what I found out during my research days moved me to a point of adding an extra scene in Gonarezhou: The Movie about human-wildlife con

ict. The scene became the most loved by people and it emotionally moved audiences across the world. Upon realising the impact the scene had, I then decided to expand the scene into a lm, focusing on this subject to add my voice to this issue and pointing the spotlight for the world to see and act."