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 By Paul Owere
Our ferry from Dar es Salaam docked at Zanzibar Port, at exactly 6pm, and we were immediately whisked away to the Old Fort, where we went through the press accreditation and other clearance procedures.
The atmosphere was tense one as everyone waited to know who had been nominated by the ruling CCM as its Zanzibar presidential candidate at the party’s national convention in Dodoma.
The Zanzibaris around were a bit lukewarm about the candidature of Dr Mohamed Shein, the Vice-President, preferring homeboy politician Mohamed Gharib Bilal.
But all the same, the town was in a celebratory mood and soon we were ushered into the Ngome Kongwe’s amphitheatre, where the inauguration of the Zanzibar International Film Festival was to take place.
The opening ceremony was a breathtaking red-carpet event with thousands from near and far in attendance. They included celebrities, filmmakers, actors from as far as South Africa. Also represented were the US, Kenya and Uganda.
Though not so lavishly pampered, it served the purpose and is likely to remain in many people’s memories as an event of a lifetime
The performance by a Zanzibari street dance group, B6, was a sight to behold as they gave a full account, as if to justify why they had been deserved the invitation.
This time around, unlike during the Busara Festival, a musical show which is usually held in the Isles in February, there was no power failure and, therefore, we braced ourselves for a time of our lives in the Spice Isles.
Tourists
The world had descended on Zanzibar and even as you read this copy, more guests continue to pour in to catch the awards night and all that is left in the next two days.
The increased ferry services between Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar perhaps told the whole story of what was happening in the Spice Isles.
“Almost all ferries going to Zanzibar are fully packed with guests from East Africa and elsewhere,” said an official at the booking office at Azam Marine.
Hotels, too, were in brisk business as they have been overbooked and you would only head to this historic island without a booking at your own peril.
“There are some guests who arrived here a week ago and they have booked in for the next 15 days,” I am told at the reception of the Serena Hotel, Zanzibar.
According to official figures available at the festival’s office, over 200,000 visitors have descended on Zanzibar this time around from over 45 countries.
No wonder many have referred to it as a cultural crossroads as we mingle with the high and mighty in the industry.
“I had never been to Zanzibar before but when I heard that the festival was taking place here, I decided to come,” said a Dutch tourist.
Some of the prominent guests who made it to the launch were, local film actors like Steve Kanumba, Claud and Ray. International filmmakers, too, like Connie Field, the director of ‘Have You had From Johannesburg’ and many others were to join later in the week.
Movies
At the amphitheatre, we were treated the opening cast, 2010 Youssou N’Dour’s music driven journey and the power of his voice to inspire millions through, ‘I Bring What I love’ which drew attention from almost all those in attendance.
The Grammy award winning Senegalese star who was in Dar es Salaam last year with Angelique Kidjo, is famous for hits like ‘7 seconds’ , which he did with Neneh Cherry .
This was the beginning of the long journey into 100 films that included six premiers of films by African filmmakers that have never been shown before.
“We are happy that these film makers have chosen ZIFF as the launch pad of their movies of all places, this tells how much this festival has grown,” remarked the festival’s director in his opening remarks.
There were also other films like ‘Themba’, a cast that features 1996 Africa Cup winning soccer star Dr Khumalo.
The South African film which shows a youngman struggle to become a soccer star, drew plenty of attention on day two as the audience waited for the World Cup showdown between Spain and The Netherlands.
The next few days were to follow this pattern as films one after another were shown at four different venues, the Ngome Kongwe’s amphitheatre, Bait El Ajaib, Palace Museum and Africa House.
Panoramas
Through the Village and Children Panorama, the festival through out the week screened special films to children audiences and Village audiences in Zanzibar free of charge.
In the Women panorama the issue of access to safe delivery was brought up at a session at the Umoja Wa Walemavu Zanzibar building.
This was after the screening of No woman No Cry, a documentary film that was shot in Tanzania, Korea, Guetamala and the US.
The event, which drew women from different walks of life, from medical practitioners to ordinary citizens was one that witnesses a heated debate on health issues.
Here women accused the nurses of compounding their agony during delivery.
The Women panorama will continue tomorrow at Kitongoji, Pemba.
Music performances
After the final screening each evening, the cosmopolitan crowd got a treat of performances by local and international artistes. The first night at the Mambo Club, did not live to its expectation,however, as the DJ failed to jazz up the highly expectant crowd.
It was more to do with his ability than the state-of the-art equipment that was at his disposal. He just didn’t resonate with the crowd as he kept on playing songs that couldn’t take the audience off their seats.
However, may be the organisers were keeping the best for the last.
Monday night, Bongo Flava artiste AY gave the visitors a run for their money with a two-hour show. AY known for the hit song award winning song ‘Leo’ and collabos with Kenyan, Nigerian and Ugandan artistes .
Others like Dully Sykes are set to follow this weekend at the same venue.
Party extension
Like on most nights after the party is over at the Mambo Club, most patrons headed to the famous Bwawani Night Club to catch Zanzibar by night.
Here, were many of the twilight girls, who are trying to make ends meet, not with all these tourists in town.
However, what seemed to irritate most visitors were the constant brawls between the girls as they mark their territory.
And as if that was not enough, the fist fights that ensued turned into live movies as people watched from a safe distance as the girls cancelled each other out.
As the festival draws to a close in two days’ time, it will definitely leave a mark as several aspects of art and life intertwined.
Business has flourished and true to the theme of the festival, ‘Hopes in Harmony’ of African films has been realised as the film landscape might never be the same again.
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