questions & answers

Q&A with Roger Ross Williams, director of Music by Prudence

by Jean Tang

Music by Prudence: Early Days

How did you hear about this band, and about Prudence?
My producer lives part-time in Zimbabwe, and had seen [Liyana] perform. She wrote to me and told me she saw this amazing singer that she thought would make a great story. She put me in contact with Inez Hussey, the director of Prudence’s school. Inez sent me footage of the band and of Prudence. I watched the tape and knew that I had to make a movie about them and about her.

How did the film come together?
I flew there [and] spent two weeks following Prudence and the band around, filming them. I raised some money, then went back and filmed another two months with the band, came back and cut a 20-minute trailer for IFP’s (Independent Film Project) Independent Film Week.

When you first told the band members you wanted to film them, what was their reaction?
They live in Zimbabwe, which [as the film describes] is a tough place to live for the disabled, and…for anyone. People [always] promised them things and…never come through. So the band didn’t believe it was real until I showed up with a camera.

Did you hit it off with the band members immediately?
Because I’m African-American, that helped. It gave me an intimacy with the subjects…and there’s a certain connection that gets made.

So they treated you as their own.
I did have to win them over. There’s [still] a divide because I’m African-American, and they’re African.

Was your crew white, or black?
Derek [Wiesehahn, DP] is white. But my everyday cinematographer [Errol Webber] was a young Jamaican kid who had just graduated from film school. It was important that I have an African-American cameraman who was young. [The band members] saw him as their peer. Most of the time, it was just me and Erroll.

What about you? Were you immediately comfortable around the band, and around Prudence?
I hadn’t been around a lot of disabled people. I had to get used to [it]. It lasted about five minutes. You quickly forget [Prudence is] disabled because she’s such an amazing, dynamic person.

She is. Was it apparent to you from the beginning that you would be focusing on her in the film?
Yes. Even before I went there, I knew that the film had to have a central character, and it was obvious it’d be Prudence. It became more obvious when I met her. Oh my God, I thought, she’s charismatic and brilliant, and engaging. The camera loves her.

When I met the other seven members of the band, I realized there were three main characters. Marvelous (Prudence’s best friend and sidekick) was also charming and funny. He’s always juggling multiple girlfriends—all able-bodied, while he has muscular dystrophy. He’s a player, a lady’s man.

Then there’s Tapiwa. Tapiwa is the smooth-talking front man for the band. He and Marvelous get into a fight over a girl. Tapiwa steals Marvelous’ girlfriend, who Marvelous is in love with and proposes to. They end up in this huge fight. Inez says you guys should deal with this in a song. In the end, they laugh about it and Tapiwa gives up the girl. We cut that [part] out for the short [but watch for it in the special features section of the DVD].

Can you tell me about the scenery shots? You juxtapose these extraordinary scenes of clouds and trees and green fields next to images of poverty and suffering.
Africa’s a beautiful place. Africans are such beautiful people and so close to the earth. Where Prudence comes from—near Victoria Falls (one of the world’s seven wonders)—is breathtaking.

I spent a lot of time [at Prudence’s grandmother’s rural home], sleeping in a hut. There’s no water. There’s no electricity. I had literally gone back to my roots. I loved every minute of being there—sitting by the fire, singing songs. It was a spiritually enlightening experience. It was easy to capture that.

Where are your own roots?
My ancestors were slaves imported from the western lowland coast of Africa to the lowlands of the Carolinas. They were rice cultivators, which is why they were imported to America: to cultivate rice before cotton took over. Malaria hit, but they were immune, and survived to settle.

Shooting in Zimbabwe: Special Considerations

Talk about Bulawayo, where most of the shoot took place. What was it like there?
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and it’s run by the opposition party. It’s a laid-back place. It’s a tough place to live, because there’s sporadic everything. The water pipes break and there’s no one to repair them. The government doesn’t pay the workers. A lot of times there’s no running water and electricity blackouts. You never know if you’ll have electricity and running water, and you have to store up water in case it runs out.

The supermarkets don’t have food, so you have to buy it on the black market. You literally need a wheelbarrow of money to buy a loaf of bread, since inflation is so high. Recently, they have started using dollars and South African rands instead of Zimbabwe money.

Where did you stay, most of the time?
I was living in what they call a low-density suburb. Bands of armed robbers came into these wealthy people’s houses. You lock the doorway, there’s a security guard, gates everywhere. You’re always living on the edge. If you do get robbed, you have to pick up the cop. Cops in Zimbabwe don’t have cars and if they do they don’t have petrol to run them.

What kind of equipment were you using?
I decided to shoot in high-definition, high-resolution format on HD 1080i, using p2 cards. I did that for a number of reasons. I wanted the resolution and quality. Also, I wanted to not have tapes.It’s easier for me to get them through customs and security.

Prudence Mabhena, Aged 21

Can you talk about Prudence’s disability?
It’s called arthrogryphosis. It’s genetic, and it deforms her joints, bones and muscles. No one knows why she has it. At birth, she was twisted so badly that her legs were bent backwards. She had to have both her legs amputated.

Farai—Liyana’s keyboard player—has the same disease. He plays keyboard with twisted hands and fingers.

What can Prudence do by herself, and what can’t she do?
She’s a very independent person, and she prides herself in doing what she can. But there are limitations. She gets frustrated by her challenges: going to the bathroom, eating, rolling down roads marked by potholes.

She has to have a full time assistant. Someone has to take her to the bathroom, feed her. I shoot her morning routine where her assistant is giving her a bath, brushing her teeth, and washing her.

The movie leaves you wondering about Prudence’s childhood—how things got so bad.
Prudence’s mother and father were an ideal couple. She’s the village beauty. He was a handsome and successful tour guide in one of Africa’s most touristed places. He marries the village beauty, and she has a disabled child. That’s the “fault” of the woman.

When Prudence was born, her father told her mother she was cursed. His mother—Prudence’s paternal grandmother—ordered Prudence’s mother not to breastfeed. Fortunately for Prudence, her mother made the “mistake” of breastfeeding her. Prudence’s paternal grandmother kicked them out, and they went to live with Prudence’s maternal grandmother.

When Prudence turns four, her mother goes to South Africa, leaving her with her grandmother. Her grandmother teaches her to sing. She loves her; she’s the only person to love her. The grandmother carries her on her back when she works the field. But she decides she can’t take care of Prudence anymore, and sends her to her father in Victoria Falls to start school.

He’s remarried by then?
Yes, he’s remarried with kids. That’s when Prudence’s hell begins. The stepmother is like, “I’m not going near this ‘thing’.” She doesn’t even take her to the bathroom. Prudence basically lives and sleeps in her own feces, like an animal. She crawls on the floor and eats from the floor, like an animal. The stepmother says “you’re no better than an ant.” Prudence would sing to herself, and tell herself that it can’t always be like this. She tried to commit suicide.

It’s really hard for her to commit suicide because there’s not much she can physically do. She drank cleaning fluid—stuff you mop the floor with. She ate an elephant ear, a poisonous plant. Both times, she got violently ill.

Finally, they took her to the school in Bulawayo. When she got there, she was a shell of a person. She had no self-confidence. They clean her up. They put her in a wheelchair. They hear this beautiful sound coming out of her. “What’s that?” they say, and they suggest she try out for the choir. Within a week, she’s leading the choir [laughs].

Did you learn all this at once?
I had to gain her trust. Because of what Prudence has been through, it takes time for her to trust people. I talked to her, treated her with respect as a person and an artist. I was honest with her about the filmmaking process. I explained that she would need to open up.

When did she tell you about the suicides?
During our first interview. She’d never told anyone before. She cried, and I cried. The process of being interviewed: you become self-reflective; it’s like being in therapy. She couldn’t wait to tell her story. Nobody had ever heard her story before—or asked.

Afterwards, I went to the place where I was staying. I cried and cried and cried. I was just devastated. I was so moved by her strength—her ability to get beyond the moment when she was at her lowest. I was determined to get her story out there, and tell it to the world.

She is a compelling character. What keeps her so playful and funny, despite everything?
She finds strength in the members of her band, such as her friend Marvelous. They’re all in it together. They’re a family. They understand each other; they’ve all been through the same trauma. A lot of them have been rejected by their families and their cultures. They’ve persevered. Together they find strength.

Prudence has this unique ability to laugh and still find joy around her. She’s this positive and joyful person. She has this inner strength and an innate, inner light. She’s funny and edgy, and she makes fun of herself.

That really comes through in the movie. Prudence says that moving away from Zimbabwe would mean independence. What does she mean by that?
There are so many limitations in Zimbabwe, and it’s so difficult to live there. There’s extreme discrimination against the disabled, which doesn’t exist in America. There’s some, but it’s not like she’s cursed and no one will go near her.

Here, we have the Americans with Disabilities Act. Even if you’re disabled, you can ride buses and get around. There’s disabled bathrooms, and elevators. All that stuff doesn’t exist in Zimbabwe. We just take it for granted. They have to be carried up stairs. They can’t get anywhere. There’s no freedom for disabled people.

Did you speak with Prudence’s parents?
Yes. I interviewed them. Even the evil stepmother. Prudence confronts her mother. She’s gained so much strength. You weren’t there for me before, and now here you are. It’s not done in Zimbabwe to confront your parents. Prudence’s mother says, “You’re not following your cultural traditions.”

Prudence had seven aunts living with her in the one room. Prudence has a salary from the school since she teaches there. She gets board too. They were eating her food.

They said to her: “How dare you complain and tell on us? You’re going to need someone to take care of you. You’re going to die alone.”

Prudence was disturbed by that. Her mother, the leader in the family, said, “I did the best I could do. It’s not my fault.”

Prudence says, “That wasn’t the best you could do. It is your fault.”

What was your interview with the mother like?
She cries. She tells the story blow by blow in the most excruciating, painful detail. The nurse says your baby isn’t right. Her arms are bent, her legs are bent. She says she was crying, that God had cursed her, how could this happen to her. It was all about her. None of her friends would speak to her. Her husband left her. She was like a pariah. The world came to a standstill. And then she turned to her mother.

What about Prudence’s father?
He was closed off. “I’m really happy for Prudence.” He pretended everything was fine. Ironically, his wife (the evil stepmother) had a stroke and ended up in Prudence’s old wheelchair!

In contrast, Prudence’s grandmother loves her so much. It’s a fairy tale.
Prudence’s grandmother is very religious and an amazingly enlightened woman.

How is Prudence’s health? What do you think is in store for her future?
Traditionally, people with her disease don’t live long lives. But her will is fine and surviving.

She wants to have a career in music. She wants to leave Zimbabwe, and come to America, and have a career as a working musician. That’s her dream. I think things like an Academy Award nomination—a win—would help her realize her dream. She’s such a talent, and the world needs to see. She can have a career. There’s a circuit of world musicians that perform. She could be part of that community. It could change her life.

Music by Prudence: The Future

How many hours of footage did you shoot?
I shot hundreds and hundreds of hours of footage. So much it was ridiculous. A lot of it is concert footage shot on multiple cameras and stuff.

What will you do with all that extra footage?
There’s a wealth of material that I plan to release in the director’s cut. There were a lot of scenes that we had to edit out because of the constraints of making a short. Buy the DVD, people! [Look for it in fall 2010, or later.]

Will the film be promoted in Zimbabwe?
I would need to discuss that with Prudence and the band. Zimbabweans don’t have any way of seeing the movie.

We want to get the band here to America for a tour, along with the showing of the movie. That’s when they’ll see the movie.

Tell me more about the school. Who is backing it? Is the government involved?
King George VI [School & Centre for Children with Physical Disabilities] is funded mainly by foreign donations, as well as money from the Zimbabwean government. It’s an amazing, wonderful place. It’s a haven for these kids. They come to this school and they thrive. They cook their own meals, clean their own rooms, and they’re treated like people. They just blossom.

But the school is in desperate straits. It has been struggling to survive and is on the brink of closing. They have to feed and teach hundreds of children.

I had a little benefit for the school. A good friend of mine gave $20,000, which goes a long way. That kept the school going for months.

So you did end up being a humanitarian—in more ways than one! How can people help out?
There’s a page on our site where people can learn more on making tax-deductible donations to KG6.

The movie is dedicated to someone. Who is that?
He was the ninth member of the band. He died while we were there. We filmed his funeral.

Liyana: The Music

Music is a major hero in the story. Its ability to empower the disabled, to give marginalized people a sense of belonging.
Music and art have been incredibly powerful tools for the school. The students write poetry. They draw and paint, and learn to express themselves. They put on concerts with dance routines.

By the way, Prudence also teaches dance for deaf dancers—from her wheelchair. She choreographs. She’s like “1 2 3 kick–go girls! You can do it.”

Hysterical! How did Liyana come together as a band?
There was an all-Africa competition: Music Crossroads. The school auditioned its best musicians, and make Prudence (the only girl) the singer. Then the band heads for the competition in Mozambique. They sleep on the ground, in the bush, and drive for days and days. They get there right when they are due to perform. They come in second place—and the prize is a tour of Sweden. So they go to Sweden.

How often does Liyana perform now?
They perform around Bulawayo and around Zimbabwe. They perform at various community functions. People hire them for private events. Organizations will hire them to perform.

What does Liyana mean?
“It’s raining.” Rain is a gift from God. When Liyana is on stage, they’re “raining.”

Is there a folk tradition to Liyana’s music?
Prudence is very religious. A lot of Liyana’s songs are religious songs. So she sings traditional songs and religious songs. She also likes to write songs using the the traditional Ndebele clicks.

Who writes the songs?
Prudence writes and composes all of her songs.

Does she sing only in Ndebele, her native language?
She sings in five languages: Ndebele and Shona—native Zimbabwe languages. Spanish. French. And English.