ByJulieO’yang
Afilmisalanguage,saysMartinMhando,CuratorandCEOoftheZanzibarInternationalFilmFestival(ZIFF),“becauseafilmisaboutbreakingnarrativeconventions,andaboutdiversity.”
Mhandolovesfilms.Helovesmakingthemandcuratingthem.HisfirstfullfeatureMaangamizi:TheAncientOneisa2001American-Tanzaniandramaco-directedwithRonMulvihill,anAmericandirectorofphotographyandfilmproducer.AfterpremieringatthePanAfricanFilmFestivalthesameyear,itwasscreenedin55filmfestivalsworldwide,winningseveralawards.
Mhando,anoldfriendofChina,hasalongengagementwithChina,withhisfirsttriptoBeijingdatingbackto1976.HisupcomingfilmNiKunga,alovestorybetweenayoungChineseandaTanzanianwomanatthetimetheTanzania-ZambiaRailwaywasbuilt,willbecompletedin2017.
InanexclusiveinterviewwithChinAfrica,MhandoshareshisexperiencesinChinaandhisideasonculturalexchangesbetweenChinaandTanzania.
ChinAfrica:HowdoyouseeculturalexchangesbetweenChinaandTanzania?
MartinMhando:ChinaandTanzaniahaveenjoyedalongandfriendlyrelationshipduringthepastdecades.Theclosetiesbetweenthetwocountriesarerootedinhistory.Onenotablehighpointisthe1,800-kmTanzania-ZambiaRailway,whichwasbuiltwiththehelpofChina.Africaneeds,andhasalwaysneeded,technologyforitsdevelopment.Ithinknothingiswrongwiththat.Inmanyways,mypersonalcareerpathhasechoedtheAfricancallforopennessforopportunitiesinbothculturalandbusinessaspects.Chinaisreadytoprovideallthat.
Mythelatefirstvisitto[China]wasintheyearChairmanMaoZedongdied.In1976,IwenttoBeijingandpaidhomagetothatgiantofideas.IfeltIhadarealconnectiontotheplace.
WhenChinawastryinghardtoresumeitslegalpositionintheUnitedNationsandfinallyachievedthegoalin1971,amongtheAfricancountriesthatsupportedthismotion,Tanzaniaplayedanactiverole.Today,thetwocountriesstillmaintaincloseties.OfthefiveEastAfricanCommunitymemberstates,TanzaniacontinuestoattractthemostChineseinvestment.
YoureturnedtoChinamanytimesintheyearstofollow.Whatbroughtyoubackagain?
Itwas…soapopera.DuringthepastdecadesIvisitedvariousChinesemetropolises,suchasBeijing,Shanghai,andGuangzhou.Morerecently,IwasinvitedbytheYunnanMinzuUniversitytomakedocumentariesonlocalsubjectsandmainlypresenttheAfricanpointofviewonChina’smulticulturallife.
IhaveworkedinthecityofYuxiinChina’ssouthwesternprovinceofYunnanasafilmmakerandguestlecturerattheYuxiNormalUniversity.Iusedwell-knownsoapoperastoteachmyChineseclassoffilmmakersaboutnarrativestructureandconventions.ImustsayitwasaneffectivewayofcommunicationwithmyChinesecolleaguesandstudents,whodidn’tspeakEnglishwell.Intheend,theywerekeentoparticipateandwerelessshyandreserved.Sothatwasmybitin“livingyourlifeasasoapopera!”
YoubroughtAfricatoChina.DidyoubringChinatoAfrica?
IthasalwaysbeenmymotivationtoworkmoreandmorewithChinaandChinesesubjects.
Backin2008,adancegroupfromQingdao[acityontheeasterncoastofChina],attendedtheZIFFandbroughtZanzibaranunforgettablyspectacularshowincludingacrobaticacts.Introducedinthe1960s,theChineseacrobatictraditionhastakenrootsinTanzaniainaveryspecialway.WecaneasilysaythateveryTanzaniantheatergrouptodayhasitspastinculturalexchangeswithChinaandChineseacrobaticcompaniessenttoAfrica.Chineseacrobaticsandkungfuaretime-honoredareasofinterest,eveniconic.
AndnoodlemakinganddryingisafamiliarsceneundertheZanzibarisun.Wewelcomecontinuedcooperationinthesefieldsandinthemeanwhile,arelookingfornewchallenges.Forexample,thisyearwehavesignedanagreementwiththeBeijingFilmAcademy[for]aselectionofourZIFFfilmstobescreenedinChina.
Inreturn,weexpectChinesefilmmakerstosubmittheirworkseitherindependentlyorthroughofficialchannelstoenterAfricaandreachouttotheaudienceoverhere.
In2009,theZIFFposterwasdesignedbyastudentoftheYuxiNormalUniversity.Iwanttoemphasizethat[while]theZIFFisallaboutourtraditionandthepast,itstandsequallyforthefuture,andfornoveltyandfreshnessofnewfilmvoices.CA
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gmailLifestyleCelluloidJourney
TheannualZanzibarInternationalFilmFestival(ZIFF),alsoknownastheFestivaloftheDhowCountries,isthelargestculturaleventinEastAfricaandaprimetouristattraction.
TheZIFF,anon-governmentalorganization,wasfoundedin1997toboostthefilmandotherculturalindustriesandpropeltheregion’ssocialandeconomicgrowth.
Thisyear,thefestival,themed“ThisJourneyofOurs,”willbeheldfromJuly9-17.Theprogramincludeslocalandinternationaldiscussionpanels,workshops,screeningoflocalandinternationalcinemaandmusicalconcerts.
Itisregardedasaneducationalplatformwithnetworkingopportunitiesforprofessionalsaswellasaudiencesfromallovertheworld.
AfricanmusicplaysavitalroleintheZIFFKenyandirectorFarasCavallowiththe2015GoldenDhowAwardforthebestfeaturefilm,WaziFMPHOTOSBYJULIEO’YANG