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Entertainment Reporter
The Zimbabwe International Film and Festival Trust, organisers of the Zimbabwe International Film Festival have announced that the final leg of ZIFFTours 2014 in Bulawayo is scheduled for December 19 to 22. Nigel Munyati, the ZIFFT executive director confirmed the dates saying the Bulawayo chapter was made possible through a unique partnership with Priscilla Sithole Ncube’s Ibhayisikopo Film Project and the City of Bulawayo.

“ZIFFTours is an initiative by ZIFFT to spread the festival across the country to ensure that the trust fulfils its mandate to spread the celebration of the art of film to as much of Zimbabwe as is possible, so that it does not become a preserve of Harare,” Munyati said.

Munyati said in addition to Chitungwiza and Norton, the successful ZIFF2014 has so far been to Gweru and Masvingo.

He said the Bulawayo event will be a four-day fiesta of film and workshops in and around the city in venues such as Jason Moyo Street, Salukazi Arts Centre in Njube, Cowdry Park, Sokusile Hall in Nkulumane, and Stanley Square where screenings will be held in partnership with Ibumba International Festival.

Films selected for screenings include “Camarada Presidente” by Mosco Kamwendo as the Opening Film.

The is a biopic on the life of the late president of Mozambique, Samora Machel, the Harare screening of which was attended by Machel’s widow Graça and daughter Josina. The Closing Film will be “The New World” from the Netherlands, whose lead actors are Burkinabé, Issaka Sawadogo; and Dutch, Bianca Krijgsman who won an Emmy Award (2014) for best performance by an Actress.

Other films include the popular Kenyan film, “Nairobi Half Life: Sodiq”, a documentary about a young Nigerian-British teenager facing a murder charge in the UK, “Miners Shot Down”, the Marikana massacre documentary; “Chrissy and Hush,” edutainment films for teens and young adults from Barbados; and “Adventures of Zambezia”, and “Stone Cars”, animation films from South Africa and the US.

ZIFFT’s Outreach2Educate programme will host writing for film workshops, and screen a cocktail of feature films, Bulawayo and ZIFFT shorts films, and documentaries at Salukazi Arts Centre in Njube, the Cowdry Park terminus, Sokusile Hall in Nkulumane.

The programme will also screen films at Stanley Square in Makokoba in collaboration with Ibumba International Festival.

According to Munyati, the venues for the screenings have been carefully selected to optimise ZIFFT’s drive for an active programme that promotes maximum participation by residents in the High Density suburbs.

“ZIFFT is absolutely delighted at the Outreach2Educate driven opportunities for growing the Festival to resuscitate the culture of film consumption and restore the vibrancy of cinema in Zimbabwe,” he said.