President - Panel Talk, Q&A, Reception

Following the screening of President on the 17th of November at Vega Scene, there will be a panel talk with the film's director Camilla Nielsson, Tererai Obey Sithole and Treasure Basopo, two young activists from Zimbabwe. The conversation will be moderated by Kasper Landmark from the Norwegian Students' and Academics' International Assistance Fund (SAIH).

Our panel will discuss Camilla Nielsson's work with the film and her previous work in Zimbabwe, as well as the experiences of Tererai and Treasure of being young activists under an authoritarian rule; they will also debate the current situation in Zimbabwe, and share some thoughts about the next general elections in Zimbabwe which will take place in 2023. The panelists will also be asked about how they manage to stay determined, hopeful and believing in change.

We will open up for questions from the audience towards the end of the session.

Once the panel talk is finished, the audience is invited to an open reception outside the screening room, where conversations and questions for panelists can continue in a more informal setting.

Our collaborators for this event are the Norwegian Students' and Academics' International Assistance Fund (SAIH) and Fellesrådet for Afrika.

About the Film

A cynical political power play is the focus of Danish documentarist Camilla Nielsson’s new film. She had fly-on-the-wall access as the Zimbabwean opposition leader Nelson Chamisa ran for office in the first free elections in Zimbabwe for decades.

After the removal of dictator Robert Mugabe from the presidential offices in 2017, people took to the streets in celebration of the potential of democracy and free elections. Among them was the young opposition representative Chamisa from the political party MDC Alliance; he gathered his team and went to work on his own campaign. In spite of the crusade against corruption and poverty that was backed by the people, it would soon prove more difficult to fight against the established power structures than he could imagine.

Camilla Nielsson has turned her camera lens on Zimbabwe once before, in the documentary Democrats (2015). With her vast network in the country and in-depth knowledge of the subject matter, she presents a remarkable study of a universal political power play. She masterfully portrays the intensity of the political processes, and not least the fear and uncertainty that follows when those who wield power are willing to play dirty to keep it.