Record entries for Zanzibar International Film Festival
With nearly 400 features being submitted, the selection process for 2018 was extremely difficult. The festival will take place in various venues in and around Stone Town Zanzibar from July 7 - 15 2018.
Entries were also received from all over the world with submissions coming from over 140 countries, with the USA and India leading the number of submissions. East African filmmakers have also shown amazing interest in ZIFF with Ugandan filmmakers submitting 55 films, 54 from Kenya, and Tanzania 31.
The films in selection cross a broad spectrum of topics and genres and represent over 40 countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda South Africa, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Western Sahara, Niger, Iran, The United States, France, Ghana, Belgium, Tunisa, Swaziland, India, United Kingdom and many more.
And off we go w/ the #festivalcircuit excited to #announce that @boxedthefilm has been accepted into the #prestigious @ZIFF_Zanzibar #ZanzibarInternationalFilmFestival #filmfestival #indiefilm #truestory #HenryBoxedBrown #boxedthefilm #festivalseason #festivalselection pic.twitter.com/g8kLOJV0kw
— Wanjiru Njendu (@wanjirunjendu) May 29, 2018
Festival director Fabrizio Colombo had this to say of the selection process and the final line-up:
“The sheer number of film submissions for ZIFF 2018 was a surprise. It is rewarding to see how much our festival is growing and is attracting so many filmmakers around the world, but especially from our continent.
“We tried to stick close to our theme for this year, celebrating the courage of many filmmakers who are telling the truth and speaking out for positive change in this world. Surely, some films selected will shake the power systems and old mentalities and that is what cinema is all about, challenging perceptions and imagining a different world.”
He said he was glad to see the potentiality of the cinema industry in East Africa: “I have to mention particularly the creativity of young Tanzanian filmmakers that through their short films are truly showing the new wave of cinema in Tanzania.”
The official selection for Best Web, TV, and Student films will also be announced shortly. For more information and the full list, visit www.ziff.or.tz.
