> From: John Badenhorst <johnbad@mweb.co.za>
> > From: Emerson Skeens <emerson@AfricaOnline.Co.Tz>
> > Subject: ZIFF '98 First Report
> > Date: 22 July 1997 01:44
> >
> > Dear Friends,
> >
> > We did it! Believe it or not, we did it!!
> >
> > There is a long trail of half-dead bodies but everyone
is proud to have
> > accomplished what we did. We generated the interest
among the people we
> > needed. Zanzibar is back in the cultural map. Those who
opposed us are
> > mostly kicking themselves. The secret agents from
several foundations
> > were here and happy. Initial promises abound the
workshop were
> > successful. Good papers and good publicity have come
from them. Overall
> > performance a solid B+
> >
> > The Children's Panorama treated 30,000 children in town
to films,
> > theater, dance, coca cola and acrobatics. The children
left transformed
> > and excited. They want to do it everyday. They left the
panorama
singing
> > the ZIFF theme song and a ditty about the equality of
boys and girls. A
> > solid A+
> >
> > The Village Panorama entertained and continues to
entertain over
250,000
> > people with issues that concern them. The villagers
themselves gave
> > parties beginning at 3:00 p.m. with singing, dancing and
bull fighting
> > and continuing with films and parties until the wee
hours. Their
> > workshops and discussions and film-making activities
were understanding
> > success. Next year's part of the festival will be films
made by
> > villagers for villagers from different areas of this
vast region. A
> > solid A+
> >
> > The Indian Panorama showed excellent films, but was only
successful for
> > a relatively small group of intellectuals because of a
lack of cohesion
> > among the Indian Community. They have promised much
better cooperation
> > next year. A solid C
> >
> > Music and cultural events were excellent and well
attended although we
> > were unable to have everyone we wanted to have because
of budgetary
> > problems. The Mandela birthday party was the event of
the year for the
> > region. No one could quite believe we pulled off such a
spectacle! The
> > South African High Commissioner requested our burner so
that she could
> > personally deliver it to Mandela himself. A solid A+
> >
> > Jury performance; Despite some scheduling problems and
some
> > inconveniences, they were exacting and intellectually
clear about their
> > choices and their report was detailed and offered
suggestions and the
> > intellectual bases for all Juries. A superb A+
> >
> > Programming; there were major and minor glitches in the
schedule and it
> > was sometimes difficult to find a copy of the program.
The publication
> > of the daily program helped alleviate the problems. A
solid B.
> >
> > Discussions and awareness raising. The festival
generated the interest
> > in the press, caused some scandal, lead to some
arguments, and allied
> > many groups to work together. Considering that we began
in an area
> > where film consciousness was near ground ZERO, I must
consider our
> > performance an A.
> >
> > Travel arrangements and accommodation were makeshift and
often
> > confusing. Part of the problems lies with Zanzibar as a
location.
Direct
> > flights are insufficient. Part of the problems lies with
local travel
> > agency and Airline companies because of their lack of
awareness and
> > interest. Part of the problem lies on underfunded and
undermanned
staff.
> > Considering the heroic dedication of the few
individuals, a solid B.
> >
> > I firmly believe that our success has generated enough
goodwill to
> > promote and propel our festival into the new year.
Several individuals
> > from a number of countries, our local governments and
institutions, and
> > filmmakers have promised to dedicate themselves to
making next years
> > festival even bigger and better. Three new film projects
have been born
> > already from this festival. Details will be disclosed in
the near
> > future.
> >
> > The report from the jury and the IPR Workshop and other
reports will be
> > made available through our web-site at
http:\\www.zanzibar.org/ziff. We
> > will try to forward to you other reports as soon as we
have them.
> >
> > Thanks you for your interest in our festival and we hope
next year our
> > new and stronger ZIFF can bring you to us so that we
might enjoy the
fun
> > together. In the meantime bless you all.
>
> Dear Friends!
> PLEASE NOTE THAT MY NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS IS
> johnbad@mweb.co.za
>
> Many thanks
> regards
> JOHNBAD
>
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