Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Two Zimbabwean filmmakers have brought the escalating human-wildlife conflict in Matabeleland North into sharp focus with their documentary, titled Living in Harmony.
This area, rich in biodiversity and home to a variety of wildlife species, has been experiencing escalating conflicts between human activities and wildlife conservation efforts.
Survivor Nyasulu (film director) and Matesu Dube (co-producer) delved into the complex dynamics of these conflicts, examining how human encroachment, agricultural expansion and resource extraction have increasingly infringed upon wildlife habitats.
“We wanted to show the conflict that’s there between humans and wildlife, finding common ground, the film is about finding a balance between humans and wildlife because true coexistence and true conservation is when both parties benefit,” Nyasulu said.
The film aims to illustrate how communities living alongside wildlife often bear the negative consequences of human-wildlife conflict.
Recently, a man from the Dete area was attacked by a hyena at around 8pm while walking back home in the Mabale area under Chief Nelukoba.
“Our vision is to bring the communities to the table, for the movie to shift policy, uplift communities; when communities are empowered, they become the strongest protectors of wildlife, so the film was shot in Hwange National Park,” Nyasulu said.
The film gives a platform to the harrowing testimonies of local villagers, farmers recounting losing entire season’s crops to marauding elephants; families speak of the devastating economic and emotional toll of having their livestock hunted.
“Most chilling are the first-hand accounts of survivors of animal attacks, whose stories paint a picture of a daily existence where a trip to collect water or firewood can become a life-or-death encounter.
“Yet, Living in Harmony refuses to cast the animals as mere villains. With equal clarity, it reveals how they are victims in this conflict. The documentary’s central focus is the cruel and indiscriminate threat of wire snares set by poachers hunting for bush meat or ivory,” he said, adding, “these traps cause immense suffering, maiming and killing anything that walks into them”.
Nyasulu said the film found a glimmer of hope in the dedicated rangers who patrol the bush daily, dismantling these deadly devices. In a powerful act of transformation, these collected snares are not discarded; they are crafted into intricate sculptures and artwork, which are sold to fund vital conservation efforts, he said.
The 60-minute film premiered at Mabale, Soft Foot Alliance on Saturday, where a large crowd gathered to see the victims’ stories from Dete, Dopota, Mabale, Hangano and Chimwara.
“The idea was to screen it in one of the affected communities and there was a huge turnout, better than I expected. Some drove all the way from Victoria Falls,” Nyasulu said.
His co-producer, Dube, is a Bulawayo-based award-winning theatre arts director who has been in the showbiz industry for 29 years and directs the multi-award-winning Umkhathi Theatre Works. Nyasulu is a wildlife photographer, photojournalist and a Painted Dog marketing and communications assistant. The duo graduated from Lupane State University with a Bachelor of Honours Degree in Film, Television and Media Studies in 2023.
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