Film enthusiasts in the capital are in for a treat as for the first time, not only in Zimbabwe, but Sub Saharan Africa, the prestigious International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) comes to this part of the world.
From the 26th of January to the 3rd of February, people from all walks of life are being invited to come and watch some of the top buzz-creating films out of Europe as well as local classics – for free.
“IFFR offers a high-quality line-up of carefully selected fiction and documentary feature films, short films and media art. The festival’s focus is on recent work by talented new filmmakers from around the globe. The festival celebrates the power of cinema to increase our understanding of society, infuse positive social change and expand the creative space for film citizenship and the diverse forms of cinema,” read a statement from the organisers.
All the international films will be live streamed from Rotterdam, the Netherlands where the 47th edition of the annual fete will be underway.
“The live streaming of the festival will be hosted by Rooftop Promotions at Theatre in the Park in the Harare Gardens supported by Hivos Southern Africa in partnership with the IFFR. This unique event comes at a time when Zimbabwe’s film industry is breaking new ground on the international arena with Zimbabwe’s own local feature film, Cook Off, directed by Tomas Brickhill and produced by Joe Njagu, having been selected for screening at the festival,” further read the statement.
This year’s edition of the IFFR is themed ‘A History of Shadows’ in a bid to investigate cinema’s powers to re-evaluate and revisit the past.
“Hivos is a proud partner of IFFR in The Netherlands, I am delighted that we are now also part of this unique and first ever event of live streaming the IFFR in Sub Saharan Africa. This is a historical event that presents us with an opportunity for interaction and dialogue between filmmakers and audiences in Zimbabwe and the Netherlands through a virtual medium,” said Tanja Lubbers, Regional Director of Hivos Southern Africa.
Bero Beyer, the IFFR Director said that the live streaming in Harare provides the IFFR with an opportunity to widen the reach of new films.
“IFFR is about connecting people and bringing daring new films to audiences that care to widen their view of the world through cinema. We are extremely happy and proud to include Harare, Zimbabwe in a unique cinema event, called IFFR-Live. A line up of six films by female filmmakers that illuminate our lives through the personal stories they tell. Audiences from all over will be able to connect to the cast and crew live via social media to join the discussion and truly be part of the festival,” said Beyer.
IFFR is one of the largest audience and industry-driven film festivals in the world. During twelve festival days, hundreds of filmmakers and other artists present their work to a large audience (2017: 314.000 admissions and 2.298 film professionals). The festival’s Official Selection includes more than 500 feature, mid-length, and short films out of over 50 countries. It aims to organise and stimulate film-related activities in Rotterdam.
 comes to this part of the world. From the 26th of January to the 3rd of February, people from all walks of life are being...Read More){kind=link}