A Documentary film on former Jacob Zuma is on the cards following a recent call-out to production companies to compile and produce a comprehensive documentary film on the former head of state.
The Jacob Zuma Foundation has confirmed that it is looking for interested production companies to help it capture the life and times of its patron, former president Jacob Zuma.
The foundation said it is looking for both local and international producers who can help them do justice to the former president who practically taught himself to read and write while he attended to his father’s cattle.
Spokesperson for the foundation, Mzwanele Manyi, said the documentary should cover no less than seven pillars that cover the life and times of the former president whose rise from his humble beginnings to become one of the most influential political figures since the dawn of democracy is well-documented though it is yet to be made into a complete documentary film.
With the closing date was pushed from October 7, 2022 to October 21, 2022 due to delays in the announcement, local and international film-makers have their work cut out as they need to dig deeper to ensure that their work meets the requirements.
Part of the brief encourages producers to go deep into the historiography of the former head of state by revisiting his early childhood; his early involvement in politics; his rise to the provincial structures of the ANC; conditions leading up to his departure to exile; his stint on Robben Island; as well as a chronological account of his return and his role in the negotiations for the democratic settlement following the unbanning of the ANC.
Speaking to The Star, Manyi said they have issued a call-out to interested local and international production companies that would be suitable to execute the mission of telling Zuma’s comprehensive story following a delay in dates.
“This is a documentary of the former president and we are making a call to both local and international production companies to help us capture the life and times of former president Jacob Zuma. The documentary should be able to tell the whole story from his early childhood to his time as provincial and national leader of the ANC to his role and time as Ppesident of the ANC and that of the country.
“It should be able to decipher all the critical moments that shaped and defined his life and involvement in the movement pre- and post-apartheid within the country and how these brought themselves to bear on the ANC,” Manyi said.
The colourful political heavyweight has maintained a big political following despite his many and ongoing legal challenges. He rose to the upper echelons of power without a formal education but that did not deter him from using his chequered past and political charm to remain on top of his political game even in his retirement.
Last month, Zuma said in a statement that he will await a mandate from the branches to tell him whether or not to raise his hand as the possible chairperson of the ANC at Nasrec ahead of the ANC’s 55th National Conference.
Last year Zuma was arrested after the Constitutional Court found him guilty of contempt of an order to return to the commission into allegations of state capture by then deputy chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
Zuma was subsequently taken into police custody at the Estcourt Correctional facility in the early hours of Wednesday July 7, 2021 where he began serving his 15- month term which was cut short after receiving medical parole two months into his stint.
Following his arrest, the country descended into chaos when KZN and parts of Gauteng were thrown into turmoil due to the burning and torching of infrastructure including malls, factories and trucks in what many say was in retaliation for his incarceration.
It would be interesting to see how the documentary pans out. The foundation was unable to provide key answers to some of the questions sent by The Star at the time of going to print.