OSCAR winner Prudence Mabhena celebrated her triumph last Sunday with a midnight call to her band-mates, it has been revealed.
Prudence was the star of Music by Prudence which won a gong at the 2010 Academy Awards for Best Short Documentary, beating other strong candidates including the American labour tragedy, The Last Truck.
Tapiwa Nyengera, a member of the Afro-fusion marimba group Liyana, for which Prudence is lead singer, said: “Prudence rang me as soon as the awards ceremony was over. She was happy that a project that centred on her won the award.
“It’s been a busy week at King George [school and centre for children with physical disabilities] with news agencies from around the world calling for interviews. Everyone is thrilled here.”
Prudence suffers from arthrogryposis, a condition that deforms joints and cost her both her legs.
Rejected by her family at an early age – a common occurrence in Africa where disability is associated with bad luck and sorcery – Prudence found refuge at King George IV in Bulawayo where disabled children are taught skills to empower themselves and survive.
Prudence, 21, formed the eight-piece band hoping to transcend bigotry and isolation through art.
The group was discovered by Zimbabwe-born Leslie Goldwasser. Now based in the United States, Goldwasser liked their music and Prudence’s life story while on a visit, leading to the group’s first tour of the United States where they performed at the Apollo Theatre in December last year.
While in the United States, they befriended rocker Sting and the widow of John Lennon -- Yoko Ono -- who recorded a song with them at the John Lennon Bus.
Then their big break came when American producer Roger Ross Williams flew to Zimbabwe two years ago to begin shooting the 35-minute film which would go on to earn him an Oscar.
Kanyed ... Williams' Oscar acceptance speech is interrupted by Burkett
Meanwhile Elinor Burkett, a documentary producer who interrupted Williams’ Oscar acceptance speech on Sunday night says she was the one who was "big-footed" on stage.
Appearing on American TV on Tuesday, she said Williams' charge that she ambushed him is wrong.
"'Ambushed' makes it sound like I was just some woman who stormed up on the stage," Burkett said.
Williams and Burkett worked together on "Music by Prudence”. Williams was 10 seconds into his acceptance when Burkett, 63, edged him from the microphone.
"He tried to make sure I couldn't get there before him," Burkett said. "He just didn't seem to think I would be so rude to interrupt him."
Burkett claimed that Williams "big-footed me" by running to the stage while she was slowed by Williams' elderly mother.
"I couldn't get out," she said.
"I think you get up and wait for me to get up, and we go up together graciously," she said. "He starts talking when I'm halfway up."
Video of the event showed Williams jogging from the rear of the Kodak Theater to the stage to take the gold Oscar statue and the microphone.
"Oh, my God, this is amazing," Williams said. "Two years ago, when I got on an airplane and went to Zimbabwe, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I'd end up here. This is so exciting."
By that point, Burkett had reached him.
"Just like a man, never lets a woman talk," she told the Oscar audience. "Isn't that just the classic thing?"
She explained to Behar that "either I could let him blather on for 45 seconds, or I could interrupt so I could get to talk."
She wanted the acceptance speech to be about Prudence and the musicians in the documentary, "not that 'I am so happy,'" she said.
Williams quietly watched as Burkett spoke, until the Oscar director cued exit music a minute into the speech.
"Prudence is here tonight," Williams said, pointing to the audience. "This is for Prudence."
Williams, appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Monday night, said the incident was "a little shocking."
"I was there to talk about Prudence," he said. "We were there to honour Prudence and her incredible message and her incredible story."
King allowed Williams 80 seconds of airtime to complete his acceptance speech.
Williams said he and Burkett were no longer friends.
"There's always, in the creative process, you get in disputes," he said.
The incident, which played out before a television audience estimated to be more than 40 million viewers, has been compared to rapper Kanye West's infamous interruption at MTV's Video Music Awards last fall.
West jumped on stage to declare his belief that Beyonce should have won the award, not Taylor Swift.
Burkett said it was not the same, since "Kanye didn't get the Oscar."
"We should have been able to flip a coin on who would speak," she said.
"Music by Prudence" will make its television debut in the United States on HBO on May 12.
(Additional reporting CNN)