PfutaPfuta

Joshua Madalitso Chiundiza

On 16 September 1994, nearly 60 children at Ariel Primary School in Ruwa, Zimbabwe claimed to have witnessed the landing of an unidentified flying object (UFO) while on their morning break. The children, between the ages of five and 12, stated that they interacted with a creature that emerged from the UFO. This creature is believed to have been Mathos Pfumao.

Mathos Pfumao is Zimbabwe’s greatest Shona sculptor. Mysteriously vanishing from his home in the high density township of Highfield in 1957, Mathos has spent his existence under the commission of NEHANDA, the ancient Mhondoro spirit of Great Zimbabwe. His mission, to transmit the message of the ancients through sculptural codes. What those children witnessed on 16 September wasn’t an alien landing, but the descension of ancient spiritual beings.

  • Genre: Experimental Short
  • Format: Film
  • Duration: 4mins 20sec
  • Language: English, Shona
  • Ages: 10+
  • Available From: July 3, 2020
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PRODUCTION CREDITS

Concept: Joshua Chiundiza
Director: Joshua Chiundiza
Music: Joshua Chiundiza
Editor: Tinotenda Tagwireyi
Found footage: Youtube

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Joshua Chiundiza lives and works in Harare, Zimbabwe. His work explores the sonic, visual, spiritual and social aspects of his Chewa, Shona and Nguni heritage, taking the form of music/sound recordings and performances, video art and performance art installation. He is a co-founder of The Monkey Nuts, an experimental art collective also based in Harare. As a musician, Joshua has performed alongside renowned artists such as De La Soul, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Akala and The Avener. He co-produced The Monkey Nuts’ experimental album Boombap Idiophonics, a collaboration with Marseille’s legendary underground producer, DJ and sound designer DJ Oil. The album was released on the famed UK indie label BBE Records (2014). In 2018, he was an artist-in-residence at the Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Residency in Johannesburg, producing a sound and performance art installation titled Bones and Dual Tones, exhibited at the Wits University Point of Order project space, work which was also then selected to be a part of the Digital Imaginaries: Africas in Production exhibition at the ZKM Center of Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany (2018/2019).