The quintessential island of Zanzibar is about to come alive this month with international captivating films, live music and parties, exhibitions, workshops, cultural tours, and special guests of the Zanzibar International Film Festival.

The chief guest at this year’s festival will be Leleti Khumalo, the South African legend known on Broadway for “Serafina!” and in Hollywood for “Hotel Rwanda” and “Invictus.” Leleti will be starring in two films screened at the festival:

1. “Sarafina”, the film, will be shown on Sunday, July 19, which is South African Day. The film will be shown at the Old Fort Amphitheater at 19:30, in conjunction with the theme of From Selma to Soweto in commemoration of the civil rights movements in the Black world.
2. “Yesterday”, the film, will be shown in the Village Panorama in Dongwe, Zanzibar, where Leleti will also be the Guest of Honor.

The festival’s ZUKU movie award nominees represent the region’s best in directing, cinematography, editing, production, and acting. The nominated films include ‘Mapenzi ya Mungu’ (drama), ‘Mr Kadamanja’ (drama), ‘Fundi Seremala’ (drama), ‘Daddy’s Wedding’ (drama), ‘Vip’ (drama), ‘Single Ziro” (drama action), ‘Kutakapokucha’ (drama) and ‘Msago” (drama). A full film schedule is here. The names of the winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at this year’s episode of the festival in Stone Town, Zanzibar, on July 25^th.

This year’s festival will also feature a music video competition, which will highlight the link between film and music, as well as support the growing music video production industry in East Africa.

Daily tickets to the Zanzibar International Film Festival can be purchased online.  As 3G Direct Pay Limited is the official online payment service provider for ZIFF, tickets can be purchased through our payment page, here. The cost for residents is 2,000 TZS per day and non-residents and VIP residents will pay 10,000 TZS per day. There are special deals on travel and hotels that can be found here. Fastjet is offering its best rate from Johannesburg – $255 one-way, excluding taxes. The Seyyida Hotel and The Marumaru Hotel Zanzibar are offering special rates to ZIFF guests and can be paid using the 3G Direct Pay Limited payment platform.

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