Heartbreaking goodbye to Wadiwa Wepa Moyo”Creators of Zimbabwe’s celebrated web-series, Wadiwa Wepa Moyo have finally decided to call it a day on the production, with no imminent plans of revival. The show was a bitter-sweet love story that drew its themes around football, friendship, sacrifice and the continual struggle for dreams projected through both humour, suspense and tragic twists.
While the legion of fans might view the development as sour, it is the scriptwriter of Wadiwa Wepa Moyo Derby Bheta who carries the emotional load of saying goodbye to a production that he nurtured together with his colleagues at College Central.
“I really don’t look forward to the show, it took a lot from me as a creator, I had a lot of expectations.
“The most painful thing for me was that I couldn’t find money; it was harder for me to get funds to do season two.
“We thought Season One had laid the groundwork but it didn’t go our way, I can’t blame anyone. Maybe the show wasn’t that good, however I am happy we did it because it made us who we are today,” said Derby.
For Wadiwa Wepa Moyo, funding was a major obstacle, though there were funds generated from selling advertisement space, it was not enough to oil the production which had the burden of over thirty cast and crew members.
As a means of preserving an already exhausted budget, the producers of the show would improvise. Filming and editing gear were borrowed.
Actors who also shared scenes seldom physically interacted as they were filmed separately depending on the availability of resources.
In 2021 during the production’s second season, College Central publicly extended a begging bowl but this again did not help.
“For the Zimbabwe film industry to work out we should invest in it ourselves as Zimbabweans because we have many stories to tell.
“We just need to make sure we protect the next Man Tawa or the next Zimbabwean actor.
“We are creatives, all we want to do is to make more and create more happiness.”
The series’ main actor, Everson K Chiedza who played the role of ‘Man Tawa’ stressed the need to support local creatives said
While Wadiwa Wepa Moyo might have just reached its last station there is no question on how it conveyed a relatable, entertaining and touching narrative. The dry patch with the production does not however pronounce the dissolution of the College Central unit.
Asked whether there is something new offering within the pipeline, the introverted writer Derby Bheta who is usually economical with words said, “We have to create something new, people should know us as people who make movies not just Wadiwa Wepa Moyo. It’s just that we can’t go on and make something as we used to without money because this will always come back to kill us.” – Suburban
