The film will be available to watch in many countries around the world on the streaming service Netflix. Netflix is a service that allows customers to watch a wide number of television shows and films on the internet without needing a DVD or physical copy.
What is Cook Off?
Cook Off was made locally in Zimbabwe and was both directed and written by Tomas Brickhill, a Zimbabwean filmmaker. It was released in 2017 but the filmmakers have only recently signed a deal with Netflix. Its release date has not yet been announced but is said to be soon. The film is about a single mother who enters a television cooking competition without any training. In the film, she competes with a number of professional chefs during her television appearance.
The film is a comedy and features a number of Zimbabwean actors and popular Zimbabwean rapper Tehn Diamond.
The film was shown at over 15 international film festivals. Film festivals display a selection of films made recently that have been chosen for their significance or interest. These festivals included Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Seattle in the USA, Durban in South Africa, Nairobi in Kenya, and the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) in Los Angeles, USA.
Why is this important?
This is important because it is the first Zimbabwean film to feature on Netflix. Netflix has a large audience of over 160 million customers from many countries around the world. This is a significant development for the growing Zimbabwean film industry. The filmmakers and actors have received much more attention than they were expecting. This will help artists in Zimbabwe to develop their ideas and create the art duthey want.
Film Festivals are a celebration of the talent and achievement of those involved in a film. Each festival selects a number of films they think are important, as a work of art or because they have a valuable message. The Pan African Film Festival was started in 1992 to promote African culture among people with African heritage. Cook Off was selected because it shows the life of an ordinary woman in Harare, Zimbabwe. It shows her life in a way that challenges stereotypes and has a positive view of a single mother, working hard to raise her child and develop her talents.
Recently, Zimbabwean film Gonarezhou won the Best First Feature Film award at PAFF in 2019. It was the first film of self-taught director, Sydney Taivashe. Gonarezhou is about a struggling man from a small village who joins a gang of poachers. He later experiences difficulties when he tries to escape. The film was selected for its powerful anti-poaching message.