Poetry is often said to be a universal language that delivers it's translation through rhythm. A voice to the inexpressible. The converting of emotion into an easily decipherable language. This is what Chioniso Tsikisayi delivers on Bureau De Change.
As the award winning poet, playwright and singer describes how she embraces the art form: "Poetry is my exchange booth − where perspectives are traded and the foreign becomes familiar."
A comparison piece to Queue For A Dream (which was released in 2024), Bureau De Change harnesses the power of poetry to facilitate a dynamic exchange of ideas and human perspectives. The 5 minute long production merges poetry with visual storytelling that feels both nostalgic and futuristic. A product of Chioniso taking inspiration from the 2000s.
"Bureau De Change is sort of the love-child of some cinematic gems I like, Men In Black converging with La Haine, & The Matrix & 2000s Aaliyah. The ideation process was fun, the execution-total stress, a year later and finally we've arrived!" - Chioniso Tsikisayi
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 is a spoken word poet, writer, filmmaker, and singer based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Her work has appeared in Brittle Paper, Isele Magazine, Litro Magazine and The Kalahari Review. In 2021 she placed third for theIntwasa Short Story Competition 2021. She was a runner-up at the 65th Poetry Slam Africa in 2022 and was selected as a finalist for the African Women Playwrights Network’s festival of plays.
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.
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