Meet Tadiwa Zvidza, the 21-year-old filmmaker telling Canberra’s stories
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Creative Tadiwa Zvidza might be one of the coolest 21-year-olds in Canberra – not that he would ever admit it.
A humble, softly spoken young man with a passion for storytelling, he launched his own production company, Passion Collective in Year 9 after his uncle brought him his first camera. Since then, Tadiwa (Tad) has helped to tell the stories of some amazing people – from R&B rapper Turquoise Prince to Citizen Kay, Olympic boxer Ato Plodzicki-Faoagal and even hospo young gun Zac Young.
Also working part-time at Supercurious as a Digital Content Producer and studying Marketing and Communications at the University of Canberra, he hasn’t slowed down since the age of 15 – he’s a man on the move, and with a vision.
“I became obsessed with learning about the camera and how it all works, which led me to want to be behind the camera. In doing that, I found that people were engaging with the photos and the videos I was posting, and I started falling in love with video production and editing,” he explains.
“I thought it would be pretty cool to make a business out of something I’m not too bad at.”
From filming his high school swimming carnivals to filming music videos for local artists, Tadiwa’s passion has always been for video production. But it’s his latest project that he’s most proud of – a 78-minute-long documentary he directed.
Called 30 Days and 30 Knights: Journey to the GIO, the production follows local football team O’Connor Knights FC and their journey to playing against A-League Sydney team, Macarthur FC. Shot across the month of July 2024, the idea came to Tadiwa after watching the O’Connor Knights play in the Australia Cup tournament, the top-tier professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand.
“They were drawn against an A-League side, which is the professional league here in Australia. That in itself is a pretty cool achievement…but, also, they were able to play at the GIO Stadium,” explains Tadiwa.
“I’m pretty sure no other National Premier League side has played in the GIO. I just thought this could be something really cool.”
Inspired by the Last Chance U: Basketball documentary series, throughout 30 Days and 30 Knights, Tad highlights the journey the team experienced as they prepared to play one of the most important games of their lives.
From training days to the games played in the lead-up to the big day, the documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like for local athletes to play in the semi-pro league.
“This one is interesting because it’s not even about their actual season, it’s just about that 30-day journey from them finding out they get to play this professional side – which every footballer would love the opportunity to do – and how that journey progresses,” he says.
“We wanted to explore the players themselves, their personalities and the things that they had to sacrifice because they’re not yet professional players.”
Working alongside Director of Photography Quentin Nguyen, Camera Operator Ewan Rollings, Editor Chloe Waskiw and Music Composer Jeremiah Charlton, this is the longest piece of work Tadiwa has directed.
Originally planning to release 30 Days and 30 Knights in November 2024, almost a year later, he says that the process has been a learning curve, but the results have made it well worth the wait.
“This is my Picasso; this is my biggest piece of work. I’m most proud of this one,” he says.
“There are so many little storylines embedded in this that we needed time to tell those stories the best they could be.”
Released on the Passion Collective YouTube Channel, Tad hopes that 30 Days and 30 Knights not only showcases the incredible talent in the lower-level football leagues in the ACT, but also rallies support for them.
He also hopes that it reminds the audience to appreciate every moment that they’re living in. And while 30 Days and 30 Knights has only just been released into the world, he’s already thinking about his next big project.
“It’s pretty cool to appreciate the journey there rather than always being fixated on the destination,” he says.
“For me, next, it could be another documentary or a feature film, but I will always be chasing a good story.”
The one other thing he’d like to add? A big shout-out to his mum, Miranda, his biggest supporter.
Visit passioncollective.com.au and follow @passioncollectiveau for more information.
