Music, dance and storytellingSub-Saharan AfricaSecular and civic
Zanzibar International Film Festival
An annual ten-day arts, music and cinema gathering held across Zanzibar.
The Zanzibar International Film Festival, also called the Festival of the Dhow Countries, is an annual gathering in Tanzania. Established in 1997, it brings together more than one hundred thousand people for ten days of screenings, musical performances, workshops and cultural discussions across urban and rural sites.
When is Zanzibar International Film Festival kept?
Zanzibar International Film Festival is kept on annually across ten days.
The Zanzibar International Film Festival is an annual celebration of cinema, music and contemporary culture based in Tanzania. Founded in 1997 as a non-governmental organisation, the event uses film to connect diverse art forms and support regional creative industries. It draws large crowds across different communities and backgrounds, offering screenings, public discussions, musical concerts and educational youth camps across the islands of Zanzibar.
Cinema and community programmes
Over the course of ten days, the festival presents fifteen separate programmes that blend cinema with broader cultural activities. Screenings take place in Stone Town within Zanzibar City and travel out to rural Zanzibari villages through outreach projections. Specific segments focus on women, children and village life, alongside fine art exhibitions and industry markets. In addition to film screenings, organisers host life skills camps and peace camps supported by UNICEF, as well as difficult dialogue sessions and tours exploring regional village history and culture.
Workshops, concerts and panels
The festival spans eight days of professional panels and creative workshops alongside ten days of cinema. These gatherings welcome both local and international creators to debate ideas, learn technical skills and form artistic networks. Every evening, the schedule turns toward live music concerts, culminating in a nightly gala. Organisers view film as an art form that can unite music, performance and storytelling into a single shared experience, offering education, creative networking and public entertainment to visitors and residents alike.
Awards and recognition
The competitive side of the gathering features twelve international prizes evaluated by five panels of judges. The highest honours presented are the Golden Dhow and Silver Dhow trophies. Other recognitions include categories for documentaries, animated works, short films and regional East African talent. Special accolades include the UNICEF Award, the Sembene Ousmane Award, the Signis Award, the Verona Award, lifetime achievement prizes and the festival chairman award, which highlight exceptional contributions to storytelling and humanitarian causes.
How Zanzibar International Film Festival is kept
The gathering opens with festive evening ceremonies and runs for ten consecutive days. Daytime activities include film competition screenings, student and professional workshops, discussion panels and exhibitions. Outreach teams travel to rural villages to project films for local audiences. Community programmes run peace camps and skills training for younger participants. Every night, attendees gather for galas and live concerts, and the event closes with awards ceremonies honouring top film-makers.
When and where
The festival takes place annually, running across ten days of screenings and eight days of workshops and panels. Editions are scheduled during the middle of the year, typically taking place in June.
Events are held in the Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar. Screenings and galas are staged in Stone Town in Zanzibar City, with travelling film projections extending out into rural island villages.
What Zanzibar International Film Festival means
The gathering was established to promote cinema and creative arts as a means of driving economic and social progress. Also known as the Festival of the Dhow Countries, it serves to connect different cultures across race, class and faith. By merging cinema, dialogue and music, the festival treats filmmaking as a unifying medium for education, cross-cultural exchange and collective community development.
Questions people ask about Zanzibar International Film Festival
When is Zanzibar International Film Festival kept?
Zanzibar International Film Festival is kept on annually across ten days.
What is the Zanzibar International Film Festival?
It is an annual multidisciplinary cultural and film gathering in Tanzania, established in 1997 by a non-governmental organisation. The event presents international and regional films, live music, exhibitions and workshops to foster creative development and community growth.
Where are festival events held?
The festival is based on the islands of Zanzibar in Tanzania. Screenings, galas and panels occur in Stone Town within Zanzibar City, while special film outreach projections and cultural tours take place across rural Zanzibari villages.
What awards are presented at the festival?
Five international juries present twelve awards. The major trophies are the Golden Dhow and Silver Dhow, alongside honours for documentaries, animations, regional East African talent, the Sembene Ousmane Award and the UNICEF Award.
What activities take place besides film screenings?
Beyond films, the event offers eight days of workshops and panel discussions, nightly musical concerts, youth peace camps, life skills training, art exhibitions and historical village tours across the region.
See also
LipizzanerA gray riding horse breed and centuries-old tradition of classical dressage kept by the Spanish Riding School.
CastellA Catalan tradition of building multi-level human towers at festivals, requiring strength, balance, and community solida
MariachiA Mexican string and trumpet music tradition featuring charro attire and communal singing.
CălușariAn acrobatic Romanian spring dance and ritual brotherhood tied to folklore and healingGood reading and sources
- Zanzibar International Film Festival on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Zanzibar International Film Festival", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryParampara rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.
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