ZIFF has announced the staging of the Mini ZIFF Bongo Movies Festival, taking place on 12 June 2015. The Mini ZIFF Bongo Movies Festival nomination event is a celebratory event that acknowledges the growing importance of the Bongo Movie industry to the cultural and economic development of Zanzibar and to the East Africa region.
The 7th Edition of the Mini ZIFF – The Festival of the Dhow Countries – will take place in both Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo and is generously supported by IT firm ComNet, one of Tanzania’s fastest growing internet providers based in Dar es Salaam.
Frederick Shirima, operations director of ComNet explains their support of this event, “ComNet is proud to support the development of filmmaking in East Africa through sponsorship of this event. The Bongo Movie industry is becoming a major economic and cultural force and we are excited to be able to celebrate the best of these movies – and share them with the people who love them. We are looking forward to partnering with the industry and roll out innovative ways of marketing the movies through streaming and online distribution as ComNet’s value added services’, explains Shirima.
During the past seven years, Mini ZIFF has supported the Swahili film industry and this year it will continue with its regional focus. Festival director Prof Martin Mhando explains the vision for 2015, “This year we will focus on the distribution aspects of Bongo Movies throughout the region. We would like to hear from regional filmmakers and distributors about their own experiences in regards to the opportunities and challenges that the Bongo Movie industry is facing.’
As part of Mini ZIFF there will be a Bongo Movies Distribution Forum at the Escape One Venue in order to discuss and workshop these issues. Mini ZIFF, along with Primetime Entertainment and Clouds FM, will also play host to 50 of the top Bongo movie stars, directors and technical star at an event where the ten nominated Bongo movies will be announced. Bongo Movies top billing star Ray Kgosi will lead the discussion as he challenges the current status of the industry.
These ten movies will vie for the coveted Zuku Bongo Movie awards, which award excellence in directing, cinematography, sound, editing, producing, acting and TV.
Zuku is proud of their continued support of these awards, as Mandy Roger, Zuku TV director explains, “As a channel, original content is paramount to our business. We harness the growth potential in developing Swahili films and awarding them the opportunity to be showcased on the Zuku platform – Zuku Swahili Movies Channel 210.’
