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The inaugural Africa in Motion (AiM) film festival,
the shortlist of which consisted of eight short films by young and
emerging African filmmakers, was won by Rogério Manjate from
Mozambique for his superb short film I Love You (2007).
The films on the shortlist span fiction and documentary
genres: a magic realist tale from Tunisia; a Moroccan story of childhood
nostalgia; a single-setting short from Egypt; an edgy tale about
two gangsters set in the high-octane Nigerian capital Lagos; a heart-warming
love story from Mozambique; and three films from South Africa: a
stylistically experimental documentary on anti-apartheid activist
Steve Biko; an innovative stop motion animation short; and a fascinating
documentary on two lovers and community activists in the Cape.
The winning film I Love You was selected
by a jury consisting of acclaimed Burkinabe filmmaker Gaston Kaboré;
writer, presenter and filmmaker Zina Saro-Wiwa; Director of the
Scottish Documentary Institute Noe Mendelle; and high-profile film
critic, writer and producer Mark Cousins.
Zina Saro-Wiwa said of the winning film, “How
much did I love this film?? I Love You is much sexier than is normally
expected in African film, and was wonderfully directed, and I loved
the timing and pace. The film was brief and confident with lots
of heart, daring but tender and sweet;" in praise of the
film, jury member Noe Mendelle has added, “I Love You
is a candid yet very moving drama, with outstanding cinematography".
Speaking about the competition as a whole, Mark Cousins
said, "Short films are the spurts of life, the new shoots,
of the film world. It is great that Africa in Motion is focusing
on them. That's where the discovery and vitality is. The short film
competition, and its considerable prize, is a brilliant way of putting
the festival's money where its mouth is, and giving a fillip to
the zingy and daring new African directors."
I Love You and the seven other
AiM shortlists are available FREE on
AMC - www.africanmoviechannel.tv
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The sixth edition of Sauti za Busara (Sounds of
Wisdom) music festival takes place in Zanzibar during 12
- 17 February 2009.
Sauti za Busara (Sounds of Wisdom) is an international
festival celebrating East African music taking place around the
second weekend of February each year in Zanzibar.
Featuring top-quality musical performances by more than 400 established
and upcoming artists (40 groups in total), Sauti za Busara has already
established itself as one of Africa’s leading music festivals.
It’s an event that unites people in celebration.
The main aim of the Festival is to bring people together in celebration
of the wealth and diversity of Swahili music. Every year the festival
features more than forty groups, including thirty from East Africa
and ten from other parts of Africa and beyond.
From Thursday through til Sunday, around ten groups perform each
day. Big names rub shoulders with upcoming artists. Altogether there
are thirty of the best groups of Zanzibar, Tanzania and around East
Africa, traditional and modern, acoustic and electric. Plus, another
ten groups, from Comoros, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, DRC,
Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria and UK.
All the music is performed live. Starting in the late afternoon,
as the sunshine softens and shadows start to stretch out, and continuing
virtually non-stop into the evening, with the final band taking
to the stage around midnight.
“Festivals bring people together,
help invigorate young people’s interest in local culture,
help the artists themselves to meet and learn from each other, and
promote a new kind of culturally conscious tourism for Tanzania”
Yusuf Mahmoud, Festival Director
The atmosphere is unique and special, and Sauti za Busara has
a reputation as “the friendliest festival on the planet!”
Visit www.busaramusic.org
for more info.
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