Chioniso Tsikisayi's Bureau De Change, a short film that merges poetry and visual storytelling, has been awarded the Best Experimental Short Award at the Brazil New Visions International Film Festival - a platform for short and feature films, devoted to supporting filmmakers around the globe by recognizing excellence in filmmaking.
The award arrives as the short film's first honour, after having been shortlisted for the BIOSKOP Short Film Competition in 2025 but missing out on the final honour. A point Chioniso reflected on in an interview with Greedy South.
"It's a sweet reward, since losing out at the EU Bioskop contest last year in the Best Narrative Category for which we were shortlisted," shared the poet.
"The great thing about film is its timeless quality, and I'm excited to see this project travel even further. It'll be screening during Namibia Film Week early March of 2026."
Tsikisayi's short film has been on a festival run that began in 2025 and has seen the film being selected for 9 festivals across 8 countries: EU Film Festival Zimbabwe, Bokola Film Festival, Poetry Africa (Durban, South Africa), Silicon Valley African Film Festival (California), Tswa Film Festival (Nigeria), First Time Lift Off Sessions (Global Network), Films That Move (Jamaica), Brazil New Visions International Film Festival, and Namibia Film Week.
Bureau De Change is a Pan African tale that takes on tribalism, racism, ableism and every other form of hate we indulge in to separate ourselves from others. The poem's mission statement says, "This will make you forget the lenses you've use to disregard another person's hunanity..." Metaphor rich, with reflections of the current state of society, and told in English, French & Swahili, Bureau De Change is beautifully written and it captures your attention right from the first word.
The short film stars Chioniso herself, her sister Phyllis Tsikisayi, and Lulu Blakk. Chioniso also takes on the roles of writer, and co-director alongside award winning filmmaker Clinton Zvoushe who produces the film. The film's cinematographer is Xolani Mkwananzi.
Chioniso Tsikisayi
Chioniso Tsikisayi is a playwright, poet, spoken word artist, writer, filmmaker, and singer based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Her work has appeared in Brittle Paper, Isele Magazine, Litro Magazine and The Kalahari Review.
The multi-talented creative won the Canopus Award for Interstellar Writing in Fiction at the NEXUS 2023 Conference, she was also named Oustanding Poet at the Bulawayo Arts Awards that same year and in 2024 she was nominated for Outstanding Poet at the NAMA Awards.