17'2017Finland, Zimbabwedirector: Jan Ijäscinematography: Arttu Peltomaaediting: Jan Ijäsproduction: Atalante Ltd
In 2008, Zimbabwe, under the rule of Robert Mugabe, set a world record for inflation, reaching 231,000,000%. A banknote worth one hundred billion Zimbabwean dollars became the highest denomination in history, but it wasn't even enough to buy a bus ticket. That's why the local currency is scorned on the street, with US dollars in common use instead, especially one-, two- and five-dollar bills. Carried next to the body, they take on an unpleasant odor, and so laundering money is both necessary and common—ideally, as the protagonists in Ijäs's film claim, using Omo detergent.
Maciej Nowicki
