Music By Prudence won the Academy Award for Best Documentary this year.The movie tells the story of 21-year-old Zimbabwean singer-songwriter Prudence Mabhen who was born severly disabled with a condition called arthrogryposis.
When Prudence was born, her paternal grandmother wished her to be dead . In Zimbabwe, disabled children are occasionally believed to be the consequence of witchcraft. In intense cases, families even kill them to remove the curse from their family.
Music by Prudence narrates the path of this little girl, and her extraordinary transcendence from a world of abhorrence and superstition into one of music, love, and possibility.
After being rejected and cursed by her family,she manages to get a scholarship in King George VI School & Centre for Children with Physical Disabilities (KG6). Her life is totally transformed after joining here.She and some fellow musicians begin an Afro-fusion band called Liyana (“it’s raining” in Ndebele). All eight members of this band are disabled.
Above all Prudence teaches at KG6. She obtains a salary, room, and board.Inspite of her disabilities, she is one of Zimbabwe’s exceptional, working citizen.
The movie’s concluding scene is a concert by Liyana. The audience applauds and whistles, then the screen darkens, leaving only Prudence’s radiant, smiling face.
The movie is directed by Roger Ross Williams
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