Pic : Portia Mzimba, founder if Sunset Cinema
Portia Nqobile Mzimba used to be the one travelling hours on the road chasing beautiful experiences in other provinces.
Until one day she came back home and asked herself why home couldn’t be the experience.
Sunset Cinema is an outdoor, mobile cinema experience hosted at sunset. It combines film, food, music, and market culture into one curated evening under the sky. It is not fixed to one venue, it moves.
The brand has already collaborated with lodges including Nkomazi Kruger Lodge and Kruger View Chalets, using tourism establishments as hosts and thereby driving bed nights and local spend.
Local Economy First
Portia said Sunset Cinema intentionally hires local talent. Photographers, chefs, make-up artists and service providers are sourced from Nkomazi and surrounding areas.
Portia said each event features vendor stalls where small businesses sell products ranging from hubbly and drinks to fashion and beauty brands, giving emerging entrepreneurs market access.
“People also come to market their businesses, like yesterday a girl that had a stall to market Phakama,” said Portia.
Tourism Growth Mindset
The vision is not to monopolise, but to inspire more creators to build experiences at home and put Mpumalanga on the map.
“We are about the growth of Mpumalanga; we don’t want to be the only one. It’s about showcasing to the different provinces and to the world that Mpumalanga is capable because we have the talent, we have the capabilities,” she said.
Women in Tourism
Founded and led by a woman, Sunset Cinema is part of a new wave of women-led tourism enterprises in Mpumalanga.”In terms of women in tourism, I got into this space, and I was shocked that there’s only a few of us, but women are taking up the space and you can feel them,” said Portia.
Sunset Cinema is more than an event, it is a movement to prove that Nkomazi, Malelane and Mpumalanga can offer world-class lifestyle experiences, without anyone needing to travel far to find magic.
