COVER: It is a common destiny as ZIFF kicks off

The 17th edition of the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) kicks off tomorrow night at the historical Ngome Kongwe amphitheatre in Zanzibar.

The Spice Island is already a busy place as visitors from almost every corner of the World descend on the Isles for what has in the last decade become an important date on the film calendar.

“Every year, ZIFF welcomes thousands of tourists and visitors to the event. The economic impact on the tourism sector is substantial, with hotels, airlines, tour operators as well as shops and independent vendors all benefiting from the increased tourist numbers with nearly 200,000 people attend the various events,” reads a statement from ZIFF.

At stake are nine days of films, music, dance and interaction as different cultures cross one another’s paths.

The mood in the legendary Stone Town can be described as expectant and as revellers arrive, taxi drivers at the port are very keen to be of help to those who are arriving in Zanzibar for the first time.

At the Ngome Kongwe where the opening ceremony is set to take place, organisers are making last minute touches to little details such as accreditation and ticketing.

Equally, at the Forodhani food market which is famed for its delicacies, business has for some reason started a bit earlier than usual.

The season christened ‘A Common Destiny’ will be graced by a number of impressive activities including music performances with celebrities, filmmakers, and actors from different parts of Africa in attendance

To add sheen to the increasingly popular festival organisers have confirmed that the Oscar nominated film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom will be the opening film of the festival with some of the top stars from South Africa attending the opening ceremony.

“Over 79 films will be screened in the 10-day festival foregrounding films from Africa and the Dhow countries and spiced up by award winning films from international film festivals,’ says the festival director Prof Martin Mhando.

He adds: The films are from 35 countries with 38 short films, 23 feature length films and 18 documentaries.”

The festival continues its partnership with Pay per View TV, Zuku which has signed a 10-year sponsorship deal with the festival worth $1.6 billion.

“This workshop is especially funded by Zuku TV which is looking for submissions for feature-length Swahili films for broadcast on Zuku Swahili Movies, which is a premium movie channel tailor-made for audiences within East Africa”, says Richard Alden the Zuku CEO.

He adds that the festival is an expression of Zanzibar’s historical link with cinema as well as highlighting the long‐standing commitment to join filmmakers and local audiences together to experience cinema in a country where all cinema theatres were closed in the 1990s.

The list of film makers who are joining Tanzanians for a Common Destiny is quite illustrious.

“Over two dozen filmmakers from around the world presenting their works will also be in attendance taking part in workshops, networking events and film pitching contest,” said the festival director.

He adds: A special Script writing workshop to be facilitated by UK’s top film makers special guest director Nick Broomfield (Big and Tupac) and Marc Hoerferlin (Albino United) will also be held.

And for the first time word has it that the festival will host a couple of Nigerian actors and actresses including Genevieve Nnaji, Nadia Buhari, John Dumelo and Desmond Elliot among others.

In another development the festival’s organisers are expecting Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o on the awards night to hand over some of the awards.

In an attempt to strengthen film making in Tanzania, there will be a special Bongo movies programme at the festival pitting eight nominated films to compete for the six ZUKU Bongo movies awards for technical excellence in the industry.

Other workshops include a Scriptwriting workshop in Kiswahili that will be organised by the Maisha Lab of Uganda.

Maisha Film Lab founded by the renowned filmmaker, Mira Nair, is a training initiative for emerging East African filmmakers providing hands-on intensives in screen-writing, directing, producing, cinematography, editing and sound recording.

Lupita who became the first East African actress to win an Oscar was a product of this Lab before she went on to join Yale.

Talking about the workshop Fibby Kioria, the Maisha Lab director said that they will offer 15 scholarships for an 8-day screenwriting lab in Zanzibar from June 9th to the 16th.

Holding the workshop in Kiswahili is in response to requests from Tanzania filmmakers who have often expressed the discomfort at using English when discussing Tanzanian films that are predominantly in Kiswahili.

On the musical front, the festival will feature 18 performing groups with Didier Awadi, the Senegalese maestro performing on the opening night on 14th June and Habib Koite performing on the Awards night.

Groups from Tanzania, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and South Africa are scheduled to entertain audiences over the nine nights of the festival.

A top billing music group was yet to be confirmed by the beginning of this week. The Dervish dance performers from Egypt will enthrall visitors with their entrancing whirling movements on the opening night.

Though organisers have in the recent past come under criticism for involving music, they believe the music is just an extension of their objective and it does not in any way conflict with the visions of the founders of the festival.

The festival is ranked among the world’s top 100 film festivals and is an annual gathering for film industry stakeholders, filmmakers and film students, with ZIFF being considered a key launching pad for East and Central African films.

Founded in 1997 the Festival is held in Stone Town, a nominated Unesco world Heritage Site.