Some 80 films compete in 2016 Zanzibar International Film Festival

The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) has announced, 80 films will compete under five different categories in the final film selection for the 2016 festival, scheduled for July 9 to 17.

With a record 490 films submitted from 32 countries and East Africa featuring strongly in the final selection – five from Kenya, three from Uganda, and two from Rwanda – the ZIFF said in a statement that the 2016 competition “promises to be the most exciting to date. “

It also said there was a substantial increase in the quantity and quality of films from Tanzania. Over 40 films from Tanzania were received for competition, the highest ever..

Three World Premieres are expected to take place at the 2016 festival: three films funded by the ZIFF and the German Development Cooperation Agency (giz). The three 2015 winners who were each given $2,000 to produce a new film will also premiere their new films.

“ZIFF’s global reach continues to expand with films from Estonia and Albania making their first appearance at ZIFF in addition to films from Bangladesh, Finland, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda among others,” the ZIFF said.

Two film workshops are expected to take place during the festival. The first workshop on Cinematography will focus on how to get the best out of the Canon D5 camera and also work on visual storytelling. It will be run by Barry Bravermann, an official tester of many film equipment producers such as Panasonic and Sony.

The second workshop, sponsored by the Goethe Institute in Dar es Salaam, will be an animation workshop that will focus on enhancing skills of young Tanzanian artists. Up to 15 students from secondary and high schools will be selected and trained with the aim of providing new skills for school leavers to enhance employment and professionalism in the arts.

By Emmanuel Odonkor