MONALISA CHISANGO
ZIMBABWE;SOUTH AFRICA
FOUNDER OF MONZYICE CREATIONS
CO -FOUNDER OF REDHOT TRENDZY
I was born in Harare but I grew up in Bulawayo. We moved from Harare because both my parents were in the army they had been appointed new positions in Bulawayo I grew up surrounded by death I lost both my 2 brothers and my Dad when I was really young. I lost my Dad when I was 14 years I had to step in and help my mum as I was the older one my Mum was now alone. I guess this made me grow up faster & mature quickly, during holidays when other children were playing my siblings and I would be selling vegetables from the garden to raise additional money for our stationary and tuck money. Growing up my first love was acting, if at school there was anything to do with drama, year-end concerts you would definitely find me amongst the cast. This then propelled me to want to study drama and that’s how I ended up studying drama at the University of Pretoria.
I attended elementary School at Hillside Primary School in Bulawayo; school was great because I used to pass all my subjects very well and my dad was still alive. When I look back I’m thankful for the time I spent with my dad he taught me how to fish, hunt, play tennis, he took me to my first live show. I then went to Eveline High School in Bulawayo as well I was at Eveline till Level. When I completed Odinary Level we moved back to Harare because my Mum was now furthering her studies at the University of Zimbabwe. I then went to Roosevelt High School to complete my Advanced Level. While at Roosevelt when I was in Upper 6 I was then selected to be a school prefect and a head girl for one of the girl’s hostels, regardless of me being a leader I was also in the drama club and remember wining an award for acting. I could now see that my passion was very special and I had to focus on it. In my final year at Roosevelt I got a scholarship to study at Rhodes University but my Mum refused to sign the consent form to allow to go study because she was against me studying acting; according to her acting was not really a career her desire was to see me becoming a lawyer or something else. I was devastated but then she saw how sad and unhappy I was she then challenged me to prove myself, so she could consider my request to study drama. After Az level I took a gap year and I managed to get a job at the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe as a Festival Coordinator I worked there for a couple of months and as an Intern at Chipawo then my Mum agreed for me to study drama.
In 2002, I moved to South Africa to complete a BA in Drama and Film Science at The University of Pretoria. End of 2002 I had an opportunity of directing a theatre play titled “On Solid Ground”, this play was part of a live tv that Tsitsi Dangerembga was producing. After that event Tsitsi asked me if I had ever considered to venture into film/television because the way I had directed the play, I had paid attention to the camera positions and directed the play for TV. Immediately she offered me an opportunity that would change my life completely in 2003 to work on her feature film Kare Kare Zvako (Mother’s Day). In that same year I got an opportunity to work at ZIFF and I also started working with Nakai Matema in the Short Film Projects. From these two experiences I knew that I wanted to peruse a career in film not in front of the camera but behind the scenes and working in production. From there I worked on numerous short films, feature films and documentaries. In the process I found myself also taking up a role of script writing for a Soul City project, the short film was then shown in all the SADC countries.
2008, I decided to relocate to South Africa though I had no place to stay or a job to survive on but a good friend of mine offered me a place to stay. The very same night I arrived at her place she got a call from a Producer working on a project for BBC and they needed a Production Manager. God had already started opening doors for me my friend told the Producer that she had a friend who was looking for job and that someone was me. She got off the phone and told me that I had to start work the following day. In that same year I started working for one of the Top 5 television production companies in South Africa Rapid Blue. I got exposed to so many opportunities that I will forever be grateful for. I worked on shows like So You Think You Can Dance, X Factor, SA’s Got Talent just to mention a few.
In January 2019, I launched my company Monzyice Creations I worked on this project for two (2) years before we finally launched. Monzyice Creations is a female owned Production company that is situated in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. Our pilot project is Rebecca Talks which is currently an online talk show that seeks to uplift, educate and celebrate African Women on the continent and the Diaspora. Starting this company has not been the easiest task it has been the most difficult & exciting venture of my life but when passion is the driver everything will work out. The industry being male dominated as females we have to work twice as hard as them but I always tell myself never to give up. In April 2019 I won a Zim Achievers Award because of the hard work and passion I have for the Film & TV industry.
I’m also an entrepreneur at heart and I believe in having several streams of income. So on the 2nd of December 2019 my husband and I opened doors to our own boutique called RedHot Trendzy in Bramley, Sandton. We specialize in selling handbags, shoes, sunglasses and accessories. Being a shop owner is not easy I now have loads of respect towards shop owners. We face a lot of challenges but we don’t give up; it is tough but we keep on fighting. I have learnt a lot of things especially managing a business in the Diaspora and in 2020 we excited to spread our wings into other territories. My parting advice to you the reader is that always remember.