Our #WCW is Charlene Mangweni-Furusa who is a storyteller. She is a multi-award winning Zimbabwean media personality, being awarded for her work ranging from theatre, to television.
She is a trained journalist, news anchor, voice artist, as well as stage and television actress, a formidable force on both the stage and on screen. Her film career began on local television in 2009,where she had a lead role in Withered petals, by 2014 she was cast in her first cinema role in Zimbabwean liberation war film, Chinhoyi 7. Which then led to more films such as Netflix’s Cook off, Gonarezhou, Rujeko, Poor cousins.
Her career has spanned from acting to presenting a medical show in 2013, and a construction show in 2015, then a talent search show in 2016 till 2020.
Her voice is a staple across numerous national and international brands ranging from voice ads to live event announcing, audio books, podcasts and news reading on a national station since 2015. In 2022 she was awarded the African female voice artist of the year award at the ladies in media awards.
Charlene’s love for story telling is anchored in film, and this has seen her directing and taking up a lead role in Zimbabwe’s most watched daily telenovela in 2022, Tangled. In 2023, she wrote and directed her first series of short films. She runs a media company alongside her husband, creating visuals for both corporate and private clients.
Recently her debut film “See Me” won two prestigious awards at the Rustenburg Film Festival in SA: Best TV Film and Best Director in a TV Film. These honors celebrate her remarkable work as both writer and director. It’s inspiring to see Zimbabwean talent shining on such an international platform. Well done to Charlene and the entire team!
Dandaro, Zimbabwe, appreciates
