‘Zimbabwe Before Independence’ (1979)

How did Mugabe’s revolution come to power?

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This week’s documentary film curated by our editorial team at 21WIRE.

This week, Zimbabwe long-time leaser, Robert Mugabe, 93 years old, is finally being forced out of power as ruling party chief, as crowds rally peacefully in the country’s capital, Harare.

How did Mugabe’s revolution come to power? What was happening behind the scenes in those days leading up to the country emancipation from colonial rule all those years ago? Interestingly, British filmmakers led with the boiler plate graphic, “Portrait of a Terrorist,” in order to frame Mugabe in a negative light. But the story actually tells another story. This rare documentary captures an image of a country, formerly known as Rhodesia (named after the British globalist and luminary, Cecil Rhodes), in transition – out of its colonial ties, and striving towards a sovereign nation-state.

Run time: 47 min