‘Cook Off’: Zimbabwe’s film that defied all odds to reach Netflix

Tendaiishe Chitima, who plays a single mother whose son and grand-mother sign her up for a reality cooking contest - says getting onto Netflix was a"miracle" . AFP/WIKUS DE WET

“Cook Off” was shot in 2017, just months before the fall of Zimbabwe’s despotic ex-president Robert Mugabe, whose iron-fisted rule brought the economy to its knees.“It was not like a luxury shoot where you have your own trailer and you are big on wine,” said 29-year-old Chitima, sparkly eyed as she recalled the experience from her parent’s house in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The daily limit was $20 — not even enough for bottled water in a country crippled by hyper-inflation. With no running water on set and little cash to spare, the “Cook Off” crew resorted to drinking boiled water from a garden tap.The first days of shooting were also constantly disrupted by power cuts — a regular occurrence — forcing the team to stretch their paltry budget and hire a generator.

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