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Inside/Out with Zimbabwean writer and filmmaker, Tsitsi Dangarembga
Kubatana.net
October 27, 2006

Read 2009 Inside/Out with Tsitsi Dangarembga

Describe yourself in five words?
Mad, mad, mad, mad, mad.

What's the best piece of advice you¹ve ever received?
Sometimes you have to take on everything at once.

What's the most ridiculous thing you¹ve ever done?
My life is a series of ridiculous things. Who, in middle age, would start a women's film festival with absolutely nothing? But the ridiculous can lead to the sublime. Now, the team knows who is on our side and who isn't.

What is your most treasured possession?
At the moment, a bottle of Nina Ricci perfume a woman friend surprised me with about two weeks ago. it was quite out of the blue, and I couldn't believe it.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Not being able to realise a brilliant film idea. Or find a publisher for that great work.

Do you have any strange hobbies?
Well, a lot of my work is strange. But to an artist, strangeness is the norm.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
A somewhat greasy skin on my face, dry skin from eczema on my limbs!

What is your greatest extravagance?
A good bottle of wine, or a good designer garment or shoes, good hardwood furniture. It is all out of my range, but sometimes I splurge on something good. It is not always for myself - for example, the last good furniture I bought was for my daughter's bedroom.

What have you got in your fridge?
Milk, margarine, cheese, pickles, lettuce, cucumber...the usual.

What is your greatest fear?
Not providing for my children.

What have you got in your pockets right now?
Used tissues.

What is your favourite journey?
I dream about going to a ski spa in the mountains in Lesotho. I've tried to surf the internet to see if one exists, but I'm not very good with the internet, so it does not look as though I will ever make it.

Who are your heroes in real life?
I admire lots of different people for different things. There is Doreen Sibanda from the National Gallery, for the way she really does her best to support people. There is my friend Fatima who looks after people. There is Soukaina for her dedication and drive - she is indomitable. I try to draw my inspiration from the people around me. If I ever wanted to be like anybody out there in the world, it would be Toni Morisson.

When and where were you happiest?
I am fairly happy now, and for me that is very good.

What's your biggest vice?
A certain laziness when it comes to driving.

What were you like at school?
Quiet, with a tight focus on my books.

What are you doing next?
I wish I knew. I know what I'd like to do and that is make the other two parts in the KARE KARE ZVAKO folk tale series. Now that you ask, I think I will be finishing my next novel.

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