The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) has been supported by GIZ for many years on behalf of the German Government. In 2022, marking the celebration of 25 years ZIFF, a contribution was rendered to the Ousmane Sembene Award.

This award is dedicated to short movies telling African stories. Stories which captivate, motivate, educate and enrich their viewers. Movies are an essential tool for learning about one’s own culture and the culture of others. They also create space for emotions as well as for reflection on what exists and what can be. This way, movies are also an opportunity to foster social integration in East Africa and the African continent as a whole.

Furthermore, ZIFF enables the creation of networks between African film makers as well as with international producers.

As part of the jury of the Ousmane Sembene Award, GIZ Cluster Coordinator for EAC Integration, Godje Bialluch, noted during her remarks at the occasion of the award ceremony on 26 June, “Through film we can gain consciousness, we can gain mutual understanding and we can feel togetherness. This, I believe, makes Film Festivals like ZIFF so special and important.”

The jury awarded three winners, who each received EUR 3.000. All winning movies are short movies produced by African film makers. This year, the three winning movies originated from Tanzania (Chumba 61), Senegal (Astel) and Egypt (Big Day). More information on the winning movies as well as other nominations can be found here.