The 24th annual Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) is the largest multi-disciplinary art and cultural festival in Africa. This year’s event, themed ‘Sharing Our Heritage’, returned from July 21-25 in Stone Town, Zanzibar, after being cancelled last year.
The 2021 ZIFF received a grand total of 240 film entries from 25 countries. These included 13 from Tanzania, nine from Kenya, five from Uganda, and five from South Africa.
There were 67 films selected for screening, including 10 feature films, five feature documentaries, and 40 short films and animations in competition, ZIFF Director Professor Martin Muhando said.
This year’s winner of the best feature film award was the 2021 Tanzanian Swahili film, Binti, created by a team of women. It told the story of four Tanzanian women who are unknowingly connected through their ability to persevere extreme hardships in Dar es Salaam.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Entwicklung (GIZ) also supports the awards handed out at ZIFF.
