Amil Shivji

This film follows John Kitime, a Tanzanian musician now in his 60s, as he sets out on a mission to put together an all-star band from the old days to revive the classic sound of Zilipendwa music. Along the way, he meets the people who played key roles in the music scene of Tanzania during the struggle for independence and the nation's formative years under the first president, Julius K. Nyerere. As Kitime plays with the band, spends time with musicians and digitizes reel-to-reel tapes from the 1960s and '70s, he reveals a fascinating and little-known story about the power of music to bring together a people and a nation.

Leiyan, the quiet son of a Maasai chief, returns from his initiation ceremony to a village in crisis: most of the men are imprisoned, their cattle are missing, and any chance of survival rests on a single cow: Naserian. The fierce warrior Senkai, Leiyan’s friend and mentor, stands by him as despair deepens—first with news that a lion has slaughtered the herd, then with a government order to evict the community so their ancestral land can be sold to a Dubai sheikh to become a luxury eco-lodge. During a protest, an arrow pierces Naserian’s neck. Against all odds, she survives, becoming a national sensation. With the arrow still lodged in her neck, the cow draws tourists, politicians, and preachers claiming divine signs. The eviction is revoked, but at a heavy cost: the village is remade into an absurd conservation site. As Senkai vows revenge against the lion, Leiyan must fight to protect both Naserian and his community’s dignity before their culture disappears altogether.

After the passing of her estranged father, Fatima makes an unlikely friend at a hospital, Maria. Bound by pain, Fatima keeps coming back to hear Maria's tale of the T-junction where she found love and loss in a ragtag community.

Tanzanian queer singer Tofa Jaxx in conversation with HIV/Trans activist Aunty Ali, exploring issues of sex work, gender and being out.

Set in a busy street of Dar es Salaam, a shoeshine boy offers us a conscious and subconscious perspective of the space and people of his city ranging from the local politician to University students as well as the neighbor tea maker. This short-film is both a social commentary and an artistic depiction of the life, aspirations and perspectives of a working child.

Mozizi, a female anthropomorphic character (half Anopheles mosquito, half human) is on a quest to find a new ‘home’ after her breeding grounds have been destroyed by fumigation. She takes us through her day as she trounces through the urban scape of Dar es Salaam with a housing agent.

This film follows John Kitime, a Tanzanian musician now in his 60s, as he sets out on a mission to put together an all-star band from the old days to revive the classic sound of Zilipendwa music. Along the way, he meets the people who played key roles in the music scene of Tanzania during the struggle for independence and the nation's formative years under the first president, Julius K. Nyerere. As Kitime plays with the band, spends time with musicians and digitizes reel-to-reel tapes from the 1960s and '70s, he reveals a fascinating and little-known story about the power of music to bring together a people and a nation.

This film follows John Kitime, a Tanzanian musician now in his 60s, as he sets out on a mission to put together an all-star band from the old days to revive the classic sound of Zilipendwa music. Along the way, he meets the people who played key roles in the music scene of Tanzania during the struggle for independence and the nation's formative years under the first president, Julius K. Nyerere. As Kitime plays with the band, spends time with musicians and digitizes reel-to-reel tapes from the 1960s and '70s, he reveals a fascinating and little-known story about the power of music to bring together a people and a nation.

Leiyan, the quiet son of a Maasai chief, returns from his initiation ceremony to a village in crisis: most of the men are imprisoned, their cattle are missing, and any chance of survival rests on a single cow: Naserian. The fierce warrior Senkai, Leiyan’s friend and mentor, stands by him as despair deepens—first with news that a lion has slaughtered the herd, then with a government order to evict the community so their ancestral land can be sold to a Dubai sheikh to become a luxury eco-lodge. During a protest, an arrow pierces Naserian’s neck. Against all odds, she survives, becoming a national sensation. With the arrow still lodged in her neck, the cow draws tourists, politicians, and preachers claiming divine signs. The eviction is revoked, but at a heavy cost: the village is remade into an absurd conservation site. As Senkai vows revenge against the lion, Leiyan must fight to protect both Naserian and his community’s dignity before their culture disappears altogether.

After the passing of her estranged father, Fatima makes an unlikely friend at a hospital, Maria. Bound by pain, Fatima keeps coming back to hear Maria's tale of the T-junction where she found love and loss in a ragtag community.

After the passing of her estranged father, Fatima makes an unlikely friend at a hospital, Maria. Bound by pain, Fatima keeps coming back to hear Maria's tale of the T-junction where she found love and loss in a ragtag community.

After the passing of her estranged father, Fatima makes an unlikely friend at a hospital, Maria. Bound by pain, Fatima keeps coming back to hear Maria's tale of the T-junction where she found love and loss in a ragtag community.

Tanzanian queer singer Tofa Jaxx in conversation with HIV/Trans activist Aunty Ali, exploring issues of sex work, gender and being out.

Set in a busy street of Dar es Salaam, a shoeshine boy offers us a conscious and subconscious perspective of the space and people of his city ranging from the local politician to University students as well as the neighbor tea maker. This short-film is both a social commentary and an artistic depiction of the life, aspirations and perspectives of a working child.

Set in a busy street of Dar es Salaam, a shoeshine boy offers us a conscious and subconscious perspective of the space and people of his city ranging from the local politician to University students as well as the neighbor tea maker. This short-film is both a social commentary and an artistic depiction of the life, aspirations and perspectives of a working child.

Mozizi, a female anthropomorphic character (half Anopheles mosquito, half human) is on a quest to find a new ‘home’ after her breeding grounds have been destroyed by fumigation. She takes us through her day as she trounces through the urban scape of Dar es Salaam with a housing agent.

Mozizi, a female anthropomorphic character (half Anopheles mosquito, half human) is on a quest to find a new ‘home’ after her breeding grounds have been destroyed by fumigation. She takes us through her day as she trounces through the urban scape of Dar es Salaam with a housing agent.

A coming-of-age political love story set in the final years of British colonial Zanzibar. Denge, a young freedom fighter meets Yasmin, an Indian-Zanzibari woman in the middle of the night as she is on her way to be married. Passion and revolution escalate.

A coming-of-age political love story set in the final years of British colonial Zanzibar. Denge, a young freedom fighter meets Yasmin, an Indian-Zanzibari woman in the middle of the night as she is on her way to be married. Passion and revolution escalate.

A coming-of-age political love story set in the final years of British colonial Zanzibar. Denge, a young freedom fighter meets Yasmin, an Indian-Zanzibari woman in the middle of the night as she is on her way to be married. Passion and revolution escalate.