Somebody Clap For Me, the Maisha Lab project from Brazilian director Luciana Farah, will have its world premiere at the 20th edition of the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) which started on July 8 and ends July 16. “I am extremely happy for Somebody Clap for Me to be premiering at ZIFF,” said Farah. “The festival has a long history of supporting independent African cinema and it is fitting that the film will receive its first public screening at one of Africa’s leading film festivals.”
The film, which was shot over the course of three years with a crew of East African film students, follows poets such as Roshen Karmali as they go about their daily lives in Kampala, the eclectic individual portraits building to form a cross-sectional vision of a country trying to shed its past and create a more inclusive and democratic reality, despite the conservative forces that are attempting to hold onto power. Also known as Festival of the Dhow Countries, ZIFF is one of the largest cultural events in East Africa. The festival was established in 1997 to develop and promote film and other cultural industries as catalyst for regional social and economic growth.
