Flora Kihombo. She won Best Actress, beating one of East Africa's most famous socialites, Wema Sepetu Blandina Chagula and Yvonne Cherry, all of whom are established screen stars in Tanzania and the region. PHOTO | BOB KARASHANI
As the world was gripped by the Oscars fever, Dar es Salaam was holding the Sinema Zetu International Film Festival (SZIFF) 2019 on Saturday, a major leap forward for Tanzania's fledgling movie industry known simply as Swahiliwood.
In the running were 267 films from 20 countries — hosts Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria, South Africa; Iran, Afghanistan, India, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, South Korea; Estonia, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Germany — in two groups: Swahili Panorama (for series, short films, documentaries and feature films produced or fully dubbed in Swahili) and World Cinema (film from all other countries, in any language with English subtitles.)
