The Lusaka International Film and Music Festival
We were excited when we caught wind of the Lusaka International Film and Music Festival that started on Friday 30th August and is on till Friday 6th September. The festival is an annual 8 day film platform that showcases primarily African feature films, short films, animation and documentaries and hosts a number of workshops as well as a variety of events that feature musical artistic genres.
We caught up with one of the organizers, Charity Maruta, to get all the details about the festival. This is not something you want to miss!
Who is behind the Lusaka Film & Music Festival?The Lusaka International Film and Music Festival is a project of the International Video Fair Trust, a not-for-profit Trust based in Harare that is involved in the development of film and appreciation of film in Zambia and the Southern African region.
How long has it been running?This is the 2nd edition of The Lusaka International Film and Music Festival. The first edition was last year.
What does the festival hope to achieve?The festival’s main objective is to raise awareness amongst the film going community on current and past global issues and topics. The Festival also creates a space where people can dialogue together about things that matter. Another important mission of the Festival is to contribute to on-going efforts to develop the film and video industry.
What is the Festival programme?The Film Festival conducts the following programmes:
- The promotion and distribution of African film and cinema. World cinema is also showcased to create a cultural exchange for better understanding between the different people of the world.
- The Film Forum is where the festival organisers screen films for free, and conduct discussions after the film show. This year’s featured film is “Stealing Africa” a documentary film to be screened at the Vice President’s Official Residence. This year’s event includes a panel discussion afterwards.”Stealing Africa” is one of eight feature length films from the Why Poverty Series
- Short Documentary Film Project (SDFP) conducts on the job training for aspiring film makers to encourage aspiring film makers to make documentaries that are for social justice and change.
- Mobile Cinema is where the festival takes edutainment films to high density and peri-urban areas.
- Music Festival is the promotion and distribution of music films on and about the industry as a whole.
How many Zambian films are showcased during this festival?At the 1st edition of the festival we screened the local film SUWI. SUWI has a high production quality and it has great values. In this year’s festival we are showcasing five local films altogether, and short all-Zambian stories.
What is the process of choosing the films and documentaries that you show during the festival?A call for film submissions is put out on the Lusaka International Film and Music Festival website and other social media sites, both locally and globally. Once the theme is decided, the festival looks for specific films and invites the film makers to submit their works. The deadline is usually the 31st July of each year. Then the films go through a selection process and the selection committee releases the final festival list.
How can local film makers be involved?Local film makers have to produce world class cinema standard films that can travel around the world to international film festivals and compete with other international film. It is all about quality.
Are the events free to the public or is there a cost?Admission to the screening is ZMW20, and ZMW30 for VIP tickets.
What are the venues for these activities?The film screenings will be done at Fresh View Cinema at the Manda Hill and Levy Junction Shopping Malls. Interested parties can have a look at the events schedule on our website.