‘The Road to Sunrise’ goes to M-Theatre
After premiering at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on November 3 and later Robin’s Park in Blantyre on November 11, Shemu Joyah’s movie The Road to Sunrise will screen at M-Theatre in Blantyre Saturday night.
This is a chance for those who missed the Robin’s Park screening to watch the movie.
The film, which is Joyah’s third after Seasons of A Life and The Last Fishing Boat, has attracted interest from a number of sources.
The movie is rated 18 and above because it contains strong language, among other things.
The entry fee is K6, 000 per person.
Joyah said he was happy to screen the award-winning movie again, adding that they are also trying to plan to screen it in other areas.
“We hope to screen it in more places to give a chance to more people to appreciate the film. But the biggest challenge we have at the moment is that of venues,” Joyah said Thursday.
Among other things, Joyah said they were targeting to screen The Road to Sunrise in Zomba and Lilongwe.
He also said that, at M-Theatre, they will have more screenings.
“We hope more people will come to these screenings because this will also determine our screenings. If we will have more people, then we should be able to take it to more areas,” he said.
In the film, two prostitutes, Rubia and Watipa, struggle to survive in the rough, unforgiving slums of Blantyre.
They find themselves trapped between their switchblade-welding pimp on one side, and male clients ready to take advantage of them on the other.
Rubia meets a naïve young man, Zondwa, who falls in love with her and proposes to marry her.
However, Rubia, never trusting men, refuses. But when Zondwa is transferred away to Lilongwe, Rubia becomes lonely and begins to review her life.
One night she refuses to have sex with one of her clients, a very rich businessman, who violently attacks her and, in self defence, Rubia stabs him to death.
She is arrested and charged with murder. Her subsequent trial becomes a battle not just to escape the death sentence but also a journey towards her inner emancipation.
“This is a story about exploitation, love, hope, the power of friendship, and the untiring human spirit in its quest for survival and freedom.
“It interrogates the society’s view of women who are exploited through the sex industry and [exposes] how it [society] uses double standards to judge the men who exploit prostitutes,” Joyah said.
Some of the actors starring in the film are Mirriam Phiri (Rubia), Chantelle Phiri (Watipa), Madock Masina (Shoti) and Tambudzo Mpinganjira (Zondwa).
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