THE 17th edition of Zimbabwe International Film Festival (ZIFF) being held under the theme Documation kicked off on Saturday with the screening of Timbuktu, a film directed by veteran Mauritanian Abderrahmane Sissako at Sam Levy Ster-kinekor in the capital.
BY TAFADZWA KACHIKO
ZIFF director Elton Mjanana said the festival will feature over 100 screenings of 54 films making use of four main venues and nine Outreach2Educate (o2e) venues.
“This year you will enjoy over 100 screenings of 54 films including
some that have won a collection of awards internationally at Sam Levy Village [Ster-kinekor], Copacabana, The ZIFFT Hub [main and small] at the Trust’s premises, Warren Park, Chitungwiza, Mbare, Mufakose, Epworth, Dzivarasekwa, Highfields and Kambuzuma,” Mjanana said.
“Some of the highlights of the festival include the Short Film Project [SFP] launch and the ZIFF Awards Night to be held on October 9. On that day SFP films Freedom and The Collector will be launched and awards will be given under the following categories; documentaries, features, Shorts and Hi-Five and the Zim-Calabash.”
Mjanana said documentary films in competition are Democrats (Denmark), by Camilla Nielssen, Unearthed (SA) Jolynn Minnaar, The Devil is a Liar (SA) Riaan Hendricks, Elephant’s Dream (Belgium) by Kristof Bilsen, La Sirene De Faso Fani (Burkina Faso) by Michel Zongo, Dreamcather (US) Kim Longnito, and Life is Waiting: Referendum and Resistance in Western Sahara by Iara Lee, The elected and Lovers In Time
“Juries for the aforementioned categories are Marian Kunonga, Ruvimbo Musariri, Leonard Matsa, Eric Wiztgal, John Sterwart, Taremeredzwa Chirawa, Nqobizitha Enqore Mlilo, Melody Gwenyambira, Brendon Sole, Linda Gabriel, and Joyce Jenje and its chairperson Washington Mushore, who is a lecturer at the Midlands State University,” he said.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Mjanana said this year’s theme was largely influenced by the passion on documentary films.
“My first year as festival director could not have come at a better time than this — a time when we have the theme Documation. As a passionate lover of documentary films I found myself revelling at the prospect of curating a festival that paid particular bias to this genre,” he said.
Mjanana said ZIFF’s focus on animation will be achieved mainly through Nafuna TV’s Nafuna Campus which will focus on growing an animation industry in Zimbabwe that can meet the potential that already exist.
