AFRICAN FILM In collaboration with ZIFF - Zanzibar International Film Festival and Alliance Francaise
We show African feature films every week at the TaSUBa Theatre - Entrance is free. The new program for February through April will be posted soon.
NERIA Thursday 20 May 8:00 pm
In Zimbabwe’s traditional culture, when a woman’s husband dies, the man’s brothers (if any) are supposed to take care of her and, after a year set aside for mourning, they are supposed to marry her. Mind you, in these circumstances nobody asks the widow anything about what she prefers. In this melodramatic story (with a few comic touches), Neria has just lost her husband and her brother-in-law has decided to take full advantage of the situation. The sort of man who likes to torment people just for the fun of it, he not only reduces Neria to servitude, but tries to bribe her children so that they turn against her.
YELLOW CARD Thursday 13 May 8:00 pm
Tiyane is a high school junior with a promising future. He is a good student from a good familly rapidly becoming a soccer star but he is also becoming an adult with a responsibility that he may not be able to handle.
FILM NIGHT Thursday 6. May 2010
Special night with Dramma film,African music and Life in the wild.
BUUD YAM Thursday 22. April 8.00 pm
In an early 19th century African village, Wend Kuuni - a young man, lives with his adopted family after his mother was killed as a witch. When Pughneere - his adopted sister - become ill, the villagers suspect Wend Kuuni. In order to save Pughneere’s life (and his own) he must set out on a journey to find a healer. His quest brings him in contact with people around him and is a journey of self-discovery.
AFRICAN FILM Thursday 15 April 8:00
FINYE (THE WIND) Thursday 8. April 8:00 pm
The film tells the story of a love affair between two teenage students, the daughter of an Army commander and the grandson of a village elder. This narrative at once picks up on the central issues of life in Mali and many other African countries – questions about the effectiveness of administration and lack of democracy in states run by military regimes and also the clash between ideas of ‘modernity’ and ‘tradition’.
MACADAM TRIBU Thursday 1. April 8:00 pm
The colorul lives of neighbors living with an impoverished African urban neighborhood, provide the basis of this episodic drama. The neighborhood’s central wateringhole is Papa Sandu’s. There the people come to gossip, empathize and look for hope. Mother Bavusi and her sons Mike, Kapa and Duka are central characters at the bar. Mike is a mechanic while Kapa is a boxer. Duka resulted from an affair between his mother and Sandu. Most of the ensuing vignettes begin and end in the bar.
AFRICA UMOJA Thursday 25. March 8:00 pm
It is a good film about South African Music, Dance and CultureThe delightful perfomance in this film starts from the introductory drumming and traditional dancing to the innovative and inspirational Venda snake dance; from the heartbroken love songs of women waiting for their men to return from the mines to the swinging music of Sophiatown; the gospel music that recalls South Africa’s faith and courage; and from the occasional touching moments of reflection to the explosion of kwaito, the remarkable journey of South African music makes its way jubilantly to the stage!
DJELI Thursday 18. March 8:00 pm
Two people from the same village (same tribe) meet while they are attending college and fall in love. During a vacation break from classes they go home and ask her father for permission to marry. But the father is a tribal chief who is bound to uphold the past and the man his daughter wants to marry is from a lower caste. There is no question in the father’s mind, they can never marry. The elders in the village counsel him to bend a little with the winds of change -- and so an internal struggle arises that will have to be resolved not only for his own daughter’s future, but for the standards that the village will follow as well.
FIMBO YA BABA Thursday 11. March 8:00 pm
Amina a young Swahili girl is forced by her avaricious father to marry a wealthy old man, who is infected with H.I.V. Amina’s ambitious plans for her future ends,she has to take care of her husband and also face fierce hostility from her husband’s family who blames her for the husband’s fate and death,but at the end something unexpectedly happens....
TILAI Thursday 4. March 8:00 pm
A film about a illicit love affair and its consequences, which later leads to ruining a Familly.
AU NOM DU CHRIST Thursday 25. February 8:00 pm
Gnamien Ato, an occasional pig man who also works as a welder, leaves in the village of Bali Ahuekro. One day, in the forest he has a vision seeing a child and hears a heavenly voice telling him what his mission in
life is. Taking this dream for reality the pig man goes to the village square one morning to preach his new faith, he performs several “miracles” thus gaining the trust of the villagers. Amazed and convinced, people of Balo Ahuekro join the new faith.
GUIMBA Thursday 18. February 8:00 pm
A fable about a nasty village leader and his spoiled son. A village girl who is promised from birth to wed the son refuses him and the village leader as well. By Cheick Oumar Sisoko from Mali (1995).
TALE OF AN ENCOUNTER (Historie d'une rencontre) Thursday 11. February 8:00 pm
A beautiful film about an American girl and an Algerian boy who find friendship across cultural barriers. By the Algerian filmmaker Brahim Tsaki (1985).
MAANGAMIZI: The Ancient One Thursday 4. February 8:00 pm
An American woman doctor comes to Tanzania to work at a hospital for the mentally disturbed, with her Tanzanian lover. There, she meets a sometimes catatonic patient, Samahe, who seems to be in communication with another reality. In their confrontation with their individual and collective pasts, Dr Asira and Samehe are bound by fears and half remembered images of unbearable pain. Only through the spirit of Maangamizi, can the women resume their lives with an understanding of the ancestors and their eternal presence in a world of cruelty, hatred and death. It is a story that seeks to reclaim the connection between Africa and her Diaspora, and one that dares to represent the histories of two continents as it peels away layers upon layers of pain to bring healing of the soul.
KIRIKOU Thursday 28. January 8:00 pm
We are proud to present this captivating cartoon about the wise and fearless child Kirikou. This film has gained millions of fans and critical acclaim all over the world since its release in 1998. The film is now appropriately dubbed in Swahili, which means it can be enjoyed by millions more.
SUWI Thursday 17 December 8:00 pm
An engaging story about a young woman and an aids orphan who find each other after drastic changes in their lives. By the female filmmaker Musola Catherine Kaseketi from Zambia.
KAU LA POHO Thursday 10. December 8:00 pm
"When ignorance is not bliss". This important film was produced by Silas Monyatsi in collaboration with the government of Lesotho to help promote HIV testing.
MAH SAAH-SAH Thursday 3. December 8:00 pm
A beautiful love story by Daniel Kmawa from Cameroon.
Nchare’s parents died when he was sixteen and now he lives in Cameroon with his uncle who is a potter. At fight sight, he falls in love with Mapon, but in order to win her heart, he must complete several tests. In the end, he beats ouf his competitors and marries Mapon. However, soon after their marriage, a powerful and rich politician puts their marriage in jeopardy.
FROM A WHISPER Thursday 26. November 8:00 pm
By the Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahui. When an intelligence officer and a young, rebellious artist discover that they both lost somebody in the US Embassy bombing 10 years ago, they learn how to confront their fears and forgive.