President is Camilla Nielsson’s second documentary after the acclaimed Democrats (Best Documentary at Tribeca 2015), focusing on Zimbabwe’s turbulent political arena and attempts to change into a modern democracy, after decades of autocratic rule under former dictator Robert Mugabe.

In the film, the director follows the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and its charismatic young leader Nelson Chamisa in the build-up to Zimbabwe’s 2018 presidential elections, meant to be the first “fair and free elections” since the removal of Mugabe from power in 2017 by his own former vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Chamisa is challenging Mnangagwa’s party ZANU-PF and the old political guard, as the country is at a crossroads.

Working alongside Nielsson are her collaborators from Democrats, seasoned documentary cinematographer Henrik Bohn Ipsen (Reconstructing Utøya, Motley’s Law) and editor Jeppe Bødskov (A Cherry Tale, When the Dust Settles, Follow the Money).

The film was produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen of Denmark’s Final Cut for Real with Joslyn Barnes of New-York based Louverture Films, in co-production with Anne Köhncke and Anita Rehoff Larsen of Sant & Usant, Norway. Danny Glover, Susan Rockefeller and Tone Grøttjord serve as executive producers. Cinephil handles world sales.

What triggered your desire to make a second film focusing on Zimbabwe’s politics?
Camilla Nielsson: Actually, it wasn’t my original idea. My previous film Democrats was banned by Mugabe’s censorship board as unsuitable for public viewing. The lawyers who had been in the film and were part of the democratic constitution-making process, felt that the ban was in contradiction with the constitution itself. We decided to appeal, in the name of freedom of expression, and we won, as the film was allowed to screen to the public, unconditionally. After, we all went out to celebrate, and one of the protagonists suggested for me to make a ‘sequel’ that would focus on the - then upcoming - presidential elections.

Unlike in Democrats, where you filmed both the opposition party MDC and the party in office ZANU-PF, you only follow MDC in the run up for the presidential election. Did you approach the ZANU-PF to try to have a more objective viewpoint?
CN: We did try. After Mugabe was ousted and his former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa said let there be water under the bridge, we thought it might also refer to the movie we made-Democrats. I started a conversation with ZANU-PF to film them during the presidential campaign, but then they stopped responding. We eventually gave up.

How was it for you as a woman and a westerner, to work so closely to Nelson Chamisa’s team at MDC?
CN: The good thing is that thanks to Democrats, which took five years to make, I had known these people for more than 6-7 years. The party members were pretty much the same - besides the former leader Morgan Tsvangirai who had passed away just before we started filming. So my cameraman [Henrik Bohn Ipsen] and I had gained their trust over the years. Once we started filming, we almost felt like we came home. There were issues however, as Nelson Chamisa is under tight surveillance from ZANU-PF; it was a more difficult film to make.

What is Nelson Chamisa’s background? He is obviously a charismatic opposition leader, an excellent English-speaker as well…
CN: He’s been a political activist since he was a university student. He was a founding member of MDC back in 1999, one of the youngest MPs in the countries, and even Minister when there was a coalition government with Morgan Tsvangirai under Mugabe. He is trained as a lawyer and is even a pastor now, and has a unique ability to navigate different environments - he is at ease with international journalists as well as with the locals. But his main force is definitely his ability to connect with people, especially with the young voters.

The film unveils quite many dirty tricks from the ruling party ZANU-PF to intimidate the opposition party MDC and even voters, by using food aid to buy votes…
CN: A lot of people don’t realise that a large part of Zimbabwe’s population actually survives on food aid, and sometimes it’s being distributed according to the people’s loyalty to the ruling party. It’s a known phenomenon in Zimbabwe.

What do you feel is the future for Zimbabwe, as the ZANU PF party seems to do everything to crackdown on the opposition?
CN: There is a wave of hope in some African countries, with a new generation of brave young politicians, such as Bobi Wine in Uganda. He has also contested the recent election in is country.

It’s a question of time before the electorate changes, and in Zimbabwe, we hope that the ‘lost’ generation who for decades were suppressed under Mugabe’s rule, will finally be able to express their free democratic right to vote.

What we saw in America recently makes us realise how fragile democracy can be. I hope this movie will make people think about the importance of democratic institutions and their independence.

TO SEE THE TRAILER CLICK HERE.

Can you say a few words about the editing process?
CN: It was quite complex as we had to tell the story for an audience who might not be familiar with Zimbabwe’s political situation. Perhaps I would have wanted to make it shorter than a two-hour movie, but we wanted to show more nuances.

Also, unlike Democrats which was more character-driven, here it’s more plot-driven, with the tension around the presidential election. I would have loved to add depth to the character, but then it would have made a three-hour movie!

Danny Glover is executive producer. What was his involvement in the film?
CN: He came on board quite recently after having seen the almost finished film. He came through writer/producer Joslyn Barnes, and their joint production company Louverture Films. I admire Joslyn a lot and she has worked on different occasions with Signe [Byrge Sørensen of Final Cut for Real].

How do you feel about the film’s selection at Sundance?
CN: It’s super exciting, to show the film there, especially in January 2021, just after what happened with the US elections. We feel it’s very relevant. We only finished editing the film a few days ago, so I’m just starting to get in the festival mood.

What’s next?
CN: I will take a break. I make films every six years as I tend to spend a long-time during research. The film was in post-production, editing during the pandemic. We’ve been in our own little editing bubble. There is now a new world out there that I will explore.