Porta [movie]
This script was submitted to BBC Script Room and advanced to final reading.
Porta farm did exist in Zimbabwe and is infamous for the brutal way in which the Zimbabwean government destroyed it and left thousands of people homeless. Land grab and eviction of white farms also did happen in Zimbabwe, and lives were lost, lives of white farmers and some of their black workers. This film is a fictionalised story that unfolds on a fictional Porta farm, which, like its real life likeness , gets destroyed at the hands of the government.
About the Film
When his girlfriend is killed in a surprise terrorist attack in Yemen, US Navy Seal officer, Jason Adler, is broken. To help him recover from his grief, Jason’s best friend and fellow-navy seal, Sean Pivotty, invites Jason to accompany him to Zimbabwe where he is visiting his fiancé who lives on Porta farm, a large picturesque range, with her family. Unbeknown to the two friends, a sinister plot to invade white-owned farms illegally is brewing in the sub-Saharan country following a failed constitutional efoort by the government to change the law to enable it to take away farms legally.
When Porta farm is attacked, Jason finds himself in a battle to save not only his life but that of many.
This movie casts light on one of the dark moments in recent African history. The story sheds light on the greed and violence that accompanied the under-reported unlawful land-grab that took place in Zimbabwe at the beginning of the 21st century, a development that precipitated the complete ruin of the once prosperous sub-saharan country.
This multi-layered story is also a tale of courage and selflessness, and finding meaning in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity.
