Friday, July 24, 2015
Yamoto Band
The ferry from Dar es Salaam docked at Zanzibar
Port at around 6pm, and we immediately headed to the Old Fort, where we
confirmed our press accreditation and other procedures.
Stone
Town was in a celebratory mood, from a distance the voice of the
Muezzin called the faithful for the evening prayer as we waited to
observe the crescent that ushered in Idd-el-fitr festivities.
Gossip
cliques of mainly men gathered in street corners as they did little
politicking about the recent events in Tanzania’s political landscape.
But
that was not the business at hand; we were here to witness the cream of
the film industry gathered at the historic Ngome Kongwe Amphitheatre
for the next one week.
At the Forodhani area business
was booming that evening and the subsequent days as the world had
descended on Stone Town and the rest of Zanzibar.
The
edition that has been christened as ‘Waves and Visions of Hope’ has
almost tripled the number of guest in the Isles as hotel rooms became
difficult to find.
The season has come with waves of
fortunes as well, Mohamed Juma, is a taxi driver at Stone Town who
confesses to be making more money than during the other days of the
year.
The fact that the launch of the festival coincided with Idd festivities has even made it more lucrative.
“During
this period after dinner people head straight spend their nights at the
Old Fort grounds to watch films and music performances. Since the
performances at the ZIFF end late they have no option than just taking a
taxi,” says Juma.
The food vendors too have had to
double their stocks to match the demand that has drastically shot due to
the number of visiitors.
Though official figures are
yet to be established, the guests had come from almost every corner of
the world with tourist numbers overwhelming the available facilities.
The
opening ceremony was a breathtaking red-carpet event with thousands
from near and far in attendance. They included celebrities, filmmakers
and actors from as far as South Africa.
Though not so
lavishly pampered, it served the purpose and is likely to remain in many
people’s memories as an event of a lifetime.
At the
amphitheatre, we were treated the opening cast, ‘Selma’ a film that
showcases the fight against racism in the US which drew attention from
almost all those in attendance.
“We are happy that
these film makers have chosen ZIFF of all places to showcase their
films, this tells how much this festival has grown,” says festival
director Martin Mhando.
This was the beginning of the long journey into 99 films with actress Leleti Khumalo aka Sarafina in our midst.
The
opening performance from singer Damian Soul was breath taking in many
ways and it tells the giant steps that the talented young singer has
taken musically.
His, plus the Indian dance performance left the audience in deafening cheers as they asked for more.
Several
performances were to follow in the coming days from Sosoliso Kidumbaki,
Baraka Da Prince, Yamoto Band and Original Comedy thrilled the audience
through their performances.
Other artistes who also
graced the stage alongside the film viewing were Msami from THT,
Zanzibaar One (Taarab), and Moussa Diallo from Mali.
As
the festival reaches its climax tomorrow night, with the Awards Night
revellers will look forward to great entertainment as cultures cross.
Additional notes by Paul Owere
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