Zimbabwe’s Matamba Film Labs makes world premiere at IDFA with The Rift

Zimbabwe’s women-led creative powerhouse Matamba Film Labs for Women is celebrating a global breakthrough after its co-production The Rift was selected to premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, DFA 2025, in the DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction.

Created with Wales-based 4Pi Productions and Harare’s Afrikera Arts Trust, the immersive work was made possible through a British Council International Collaboration Grant 2025. Shot in Zimbabwe, it merges contemporary dance, poetry and 360-degree cinema to portray humanity’s bond with nature and the urgent realities of climate change — from water scarcity to fast fashion and plastic pollution.

Directed by Janire Najera and Matt Wright, The Rift features choreography by Soukaina M-L Edom and Victor Peturo, music by Mary Anibal with a remix by NØ Shape, and performances by Delvin Pikani, Sasha Kakono, Nongizashe Kamudyariwa and Dazel Matake. Zimbabwean producers Siza Mukwedini and Kudakwashe Makuzwa worked alongside 4Pi’s Welsh team to bring the concept to life under the creative wing of Afrikera Arts Trust.

For Matamba Film Labs for Women — a hub dedicated to elevating female storytellers — the IDFA selection marks a major stride in placing Zimbabwean voices on the world stage. The organisation praised its partners and local backers including the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, and the British Council SSA.

The Rift premieres this November in Amsterdam, positioning Zimbabwean creativity at the centre of global climate storytelling.