Bertha Shoko
20 February 2010
A new film Big House, Small House that seeks to show how multiple concurrent sexual relationships have fuelled the Aids pandemic in southern Africa premiered in Harare recently. The film will soon be shown on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), as part of the regional Aids prevention campaign OneLove.
The OneLove Campaign is a five-year regional programme aimed at reducing the incidence of HIV in the region by discouraging multiple concurrent partnerships (MCPs).
Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa are some of the countries involved in the project.
In Zimbabwe OneLove was launched in June last year.
Big House, Small House was produced by Action Institute for Environment, Health and Development Communication (Action), Theory X, a production company and the Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication of South Africa.
Directed by Rumbi Katedza, the film is about love and betrayal.
It is also about the challenges of bringing down HIV infection in a region where society accepts extra marital affairs by men.
The film opens with a scene where Shingi (Sandra Chidavanyika) and Simba (Jasen Mpepho) celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary with family and friends in Budiriro.
In the middle of the celebrations, Simba rushes to the gate after witnessing commotion.
He finds his girlfriend of five years Tariro (Evangelista Mwatse) at the centre of a fierce tussle.
Tariro tells Simba her parents are waiting for him to come and pay lobola for her as promised.
After a heated argument Simba manages to convince her that he will see her after the party.
One thing leads to the other and Shingi who is still childless finally discovers her husband's affair with Tariro.
She also discovers that Simba and Tariro have a five-year-old daughter.
Shingi is heartbroken that her 10 years of marriage have been a lie.
But eventually she finds herself nursing the HIV positive "small house" at her home.
Tariro tells Shingi that Simba is the only man she has ever known leaving both women wondering how many other partners he has had.
Meanwhile, Simba finds himself alone at Tariro's lodgings.
It is a touching film but the turn of events where Shingi befriends the ailing Tariro is almost unthinkable for most women who have gone through similar experiences.
But one woman's interpretation of the film is that Tariro and Shingi were able to identify their real enemy.
"Just like Tariro and Shingi, women must be able to identify the enemy and stick together," she said after attending the premiere.
"Otherwise in practical terms a fist fight would have broken out between the two women with the man trying to stop them or away at the bar."
This was the kind of debate that the producers sought as a way of encouraging behaviour change.
Sichoni Takoleza, an Action board member said edutainment remains a powerful communication tool in the fight against the pandemic.
He said his organisation through its partnership with Soul City was working on a multi-media campaign to tackle the growing complexity of HIV and Aids issues.
The 24-minute film will be screened on ZBC together with 10 other films from nine countries, which are part of the OneLove campaign.
Small House, Big House will also air on nine regional stations.
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), National Aids Council, Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service and Zimbabwe Community Health Intervention Project are some of the partners in the campaign.
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