Nominees for the Zanzibar International Film Festival included four South Sudanese films from the German Embassy-sponsored Juba Film Festival (JFF) 2023.
In August, the co-founder of the JFF, Mama Joice Thomas, accompanied the directors of the nominated films to Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania, where the films were well-received by both reviewers and viewers.
Mama Joice Thomas was welcomed to the German Embassy by Lukas Dürrnagel, First Secretary, who expressed his gratitude for the well-earned recognition given to the South Sudanese filmmakers.
He said, “We are very happy that four films that premiered at the Juba Film Festival, supported by Germany, have received international attention and praise.” “We are thrilled that South Sudan’s rising cinema stars are bringing the country’s film industry to a global audience.”
Mama Joice Thomas stated that the first-ever South Sudanese film productions to participate in the Zanzibar International Film Festival provided a great chance for the filmmakers to network with local and global industry experts.
“In addition, the well-known production ‘Goodbye Julia’ won best film of the year and was screened at the Festival in the name of South Sudan,” she said. “Director Mohamed Kordofani and the South Sudanese film industry as a whole deserve this recognition,”
“Village Beauty” (Best Film of Juba Film Festival 2023, script by Betty Baraka, directed by Harrison Phillip Osfeldu), “It’s really happen” (script and director Anthony Bidal), “Plight Nomad Story” (script by Clement Alison Tongun, directed by Harrison Phillip Osfeldu), and “Waja Ta Jena” (script by John Owudada, directed by Leviticus Levi) are the four Juba Film Festival films nominated for Zanzibar International Film Festival.
Over 350 of the approximately 3000 cinematic works that were submitted to the Zanzibar Film Festival came from East Africa. Sixty films, including the four Juba Film Festival selections, have been selected for competition following a rigorous selection process.
