The Filmmakers Behind the Documentary
Beatrice Mtetwa and the Rule of Law was created by a small team of dedicated filmmakers who recognized that the story of one courageous Zimbabwean lawyer could illuminate the universal importance of the rule of law. The film was produced through a collaboration rooted in the Nieman Fellowship program at Harvard University.
Lorie Conway — Writer, Producer, and Director
Lorie Conway is a Boston-based documentary filmmaker and journalist. She is the writer, producer, and director of Beatrice Mtetwa and the Rule of Law. Conway traveled to Zimbabwe in January and June 2012 to film with Beatrice Mtetwa and her clients, and also traveled to Swaziland to film at Beatrice’s family homestead where she grew up.
Conway is a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University (class of 1994), a program that brings together accomplished journalists from around the world for a year of study. Her body of work spans documentary film and investigative journalism, with a focus on justice, human rights, and civic issues.
Filming for the documentary took place in Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Barcelona, Boston, Cleveland, New Orleans, and London, reflecting the international scope of the film’s outreach and the global significance of its subject.
Hopewell Rugoho-Chin’ono — Co-Producer
Hopewell Rugoho-Chin’ono is a Zimbabwean filmmaker and journalist who served as co-producer of the documentary. He and Lorie Conway met through the Nieman Fellowship program for journalism at Harvard University, which brought them together around a shared commitment to press freedom and accountability journalism in Zimbabwe and beyond.
Chin’ono has become one of Zimbabwe’s most prominent investigative journalists and human rights advocates. His work exposing government corruption has made him a target of the Zimbabwean authorities — in 2020, he was arrested multiple times, and in one of those cases, Beatrice Mtetwa herself sought to represent him in court, only to be barred by the presiding magistrate in what observers described as a direct attack on the legal profession.
A Film Born from Shared Commitment
The collaboration between Conway and Chin’ono exemplifies the kind of cross-border, cross-cultural journalism that is necessary to tell stories the world needs to hear. Their decision to center the documentary on Beatrice Mtetwa — rather than on any single political event — gave the film a depth and humanity that has allowed it to resonate with audiences at law schools, international institutions, and civic education programs around the world.
Learn more about Beatrice Mtetwa, read about the defendants whose cases are featured in the film, or find out about screenings and educational distribution.