Tales of a Southern girl in the Middle East: Film Festival

On traveling

"When you travel, you experience, in a very practical way, the act of rebirth. You confront completely new situations, the day passes more slowly, and on most journeys you don't even understand the language the people speak. So you are like a child just out of the womb. You begin to attach much more importance to the things around you because your survival depends on them. You begin to be more accessible to others because they may be able to help you in difficult situations. And you accept any small favor from the gods with great delight, as if it were an episode you would remember for the rest of your life. At the same time, since all things are new, you see only the beauty in them and feel happy to be alive." (Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage)

15 July 2008

Film Festival

I was lucky enough to arrive in Zanzibar in the middle of the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF). The festival draws film makers, visual artists, acrobats, orchestras, traditional musicians, current African pop stars and fans from around the world.
The main venue of the festival is the Old Fort, located in the center of the town, just across the road from the ocean. The amphitheatre in the fort was the perfect location to watch films projected on an enormous screen.