Production company Blink Films has commenced work on Lost City of Gold, a landmark 60-minute documentary being prepared for The WNET Group, ARTE, and a theatrical release, which tells the story of Great Zimbabwe, a mysterious southern African city that was once home to up to 20,000 people.
The Blink Films’ documentary shines a light on a forgotten pre-colonial superpower whose history was distorted or suppressed by colonial forces. European settlers of the era historically undermined the site by claiming that African people were incapable of constructing such majestic and sophisticated stone structures, leading the British colonial government to suppress archaeological findings.
Currently, a new excavation team led by Oxford University’s Zimbabwean archaeologist, Professor Shadreck Chirikure, has secured exclusive access to the buried ruins. Their research reveals that Great Zimbabwe was far more than just a local settlement; it was the center of a gold-rich civilization boasting trade routes that extended as far as China.
As the largest pre-colonial man-made structure in southern Africa, this ancient metropolis remains surrounded by giant stone walls standing 40 feet high and 16 feet thick.
Behind the camera, the Blink Films’ film is produced by Shermane Henlon, with Nick Tanner serving as edit producer, directed by Ben Holgate, and executive produced by Tom Adams and Dan Chambers, while PBS Distribution will handle the global distribution rights.
