Another side of Africa

A Different Side of Africa

Sophisticated, warm, exotic.  After ten years of being ensconced in the poverty of Kenya I am seeing another side to this wonderful continent. I arrived at the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ziff.or.tz) to gentle breezes, gorgeous sand and an exotic location. The film festival is the largest in East Africa. After a day of films in multiple locations we journeyed to an ancient amphitheater with stars screaming down upon us. The stage morphed into a catwalk of a couture line from a local fashionista before the commencement of Kalusha, a South African film premiering in Zanzibar.

The energy is electric. The films come from all over the world with a running theme on social justice....something near and dear to my heart. 

So what am I doing here? I have a (*flash*) boyfriend of nine months (more on that later) who is a cinematographer and is giving a five day workshop for twelve aspiring filmmakers. I get to be the assistant. This is a new role for me and I'm trying my hardest not to step in and run the workshop myself :)

Yesterday I attended six films. There was a gem of a film called My Bicycle from Bangladesh. I am cycling four to five days a week in Portland and I was anxious to see a new perspective of my beloved sport. The bicycle in this film was an entrepreneurial tool that allowed a desperately poor migrant to eek out a living for his family. Of course, there was a twist with the arrival of the town bullies. It was one of those films that, oh so subtlety, brings a tear to your eye.


Film has a wonderful way of allowing you to step into the shoes of others. It is a dreamy world I'm experiencing right now. And there are ten days ahead of learning and absorbing everything possible in this wonderfully rich culture.