

Tanzania's film industry, also known as Swahiliwood or Bongo movie (a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[Swahili
Swahili may refer to:
* Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes
* Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa
* Swahili culture
Swahili culture is the culture of ...](_blank)
, Tanzania's official language, and
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
) and Bongowood, was established around 2001.
Films produced with low budgets, short schedules and camcorders are referred to colloquially as "bongo films" and are mass-released in DVD format. In 2011, bongo films were produced on a regular basis,
but only a few higher quality Tanzanian feature films have been released in cinemas.
Most Tanzanian film production studios are based in
Dar es Salaam.
Before Tanzania's independence in 1961, some foreign movies were filmed in
Tanganyika
Tanganyika may refer to:
Places
* Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state
* Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania
* Tanzania M ...
and
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
. The
Zanzibar International Film Festival
The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), also known as Festival of the Dhow Countries, is an annual film festival held in Zanzibar, Tanzania and one of the largest cultural events in East Africa. ZIFF is a non-governmental organization esta ...
hosts films, workshops, exhibitions, Dhow races, music and performing arts, as well as panoramas of women, children and villages. The company movies are
Steps Intertainment
Step(s) or STEP may refer to:
Common meanings
* Steps, making a staircase
* Walking
* Dance move
* Military step, or march
** Marching
Arts Films and television
* ''Steps'' (TV series), Hong Kong
* ''Step'' (film), US, 2017
Literature
* ...
&
Mzimuni Theatre Art
Mzimuni is an administrative ward in the Kinondoni District of the Dar es Salaam Region
Dar es Salaam Region (''Mkoa wa Dar es Salaam'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions and is located in the east coast of the cou ...
History
Tanzanians inherited parts of their cinematic culture from British colonialists, including the production of both commercial films and government-funded instructional films.
After independence, the newly formed government led by the President
Julius Kambarage Nyerere
Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist, politician, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as president from 1962 to 1964, aft ...
sent home South African film expats, and established the country's own film industry under the Ministry of Community Development. South Africa was plagued by
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
, and Tanzania and other independent African countries broke ties with them until it ended. Replacing the South African filmmakers were Yugoslavian filmmakers, who started aiding the film industry of Tanzania in 1963, helping establish the industry.
Many of the films created during this time were instructional or educational, made by the government, and distributed across Tanzania.
Tanzanian films
In 2001, ''
Maangamizi: The Ancient One'' was the first and up to now the last submission of Film from Tanzania for the Academy Awards category Best Foreign Film.
''Mapenzi Ya Mungu'' (''The Will of God'') was released in 2014 Tanzanian movies list. ''Bongoland'', a film about a US immigrant from Tanzania, was released in 2003. Other notable films include
''Ni Noma'', released in June 2016. Other movies were from Mzimuni Theatre Arts which are
Misukosuko release in
010 010 may refer to:
* 10 (number)
* 8 (number) in octal numeral notation
* Motorola 68010, a microprocessor released by Motorola in 1982
* 010, the telephone area code of Beijing
* 010, the Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the ...
Double J (
Double Jimmy
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* ...
) in
013
013 is a music venue in Tilburg, the Netherlands. The venue opened in 1998 and replaced the ''Noorderligt'', the ''Bat Cave'' and the ''MuziekKantenWinkel''. 013 is the largest popular music venue in the southern Netherlands.
There are two concer ...
Part Of Job
Part, parts or PART may refer to:
People
* Armi Pärt (born 1991), Estonian handballer
*Arvo Pärt (born 1935), Estonian classical composer
* Brian Part (born 1962), American child actor
* Dealtry Charles Part (1882–1961), sheriff (1926–1927) ...
011
The following is a list of different international call prefixes that need to be dialled when placing an international telephone call from different countries.
Countries by international prefix
Countries using optional carrier selection code ...
&
Inspector Seba
Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it.
Australia
In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...
008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to:
* The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh
*"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6
* '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film
* '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...
Well known artists include
Steven Kanumba,
Elizabeth Michael,
Kajala Masanja
Kajala Masanja is an actress and film star in Tanzania. She won the 2016 EATV ( East Africa Television) award for actress. She was married to former banker Faraji Chambo.
She appeared in the 2012 film Kijiji Cha Tambua Haki with Steven Kanumba ...
,
Mzee Chillo
Ahmed Olotu (born 9 December 1950) popularly known as Mzee Chillo is a Tanzanian veteran actor. He has starred in over 100 movies in his film career. He has been featured in both regional and international films making him among the greatest T ...
,
Baby Madaha
Baby Madaha (born 19 November 1988 in Tanzania, Mwanza) is a Tanzanian actress and musician. She was the winner of Bongo Star Search competition in 2007. Baby Madaha is popularly known for her hit single Amore. She also won a German award for ...
,
Wema Sepetu,
Vincent Kigosi,
Lucy Komba
Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, ...
,
Jimmy Mponda
Jimmy may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy
* ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma
* ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...
Plus Sebastian Mwanangulo
Sebastian may refer to:
People
* Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films and television
* ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film
* ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...
eba &
Charles Magari.
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
Foreign films
Many foreign films were shot in and around Tanzania prior to independence, including adventure, romance and war movies.
Eight months of footage were required for the U.S. film ''
Men of Two Worlds
''Men of Two Worlds'' is a 1946 British Technicolor drama film directed by Thorold Dickinson and starring Robert Adams, Eric Portman and Phyllis Calvert. The screenplay concerns an African music student who returns home to battle a witch doctor ...
'' at
Tanganyika
Tanganyika may refer to:
Places
* Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state
* Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania
* Tanzania M ...
in 1943.
John Wayne's movie ''
Hatari!
''Hatari!'' (, Swahili for "Danger!") is a 1962 American adventure romantic comedy film starring John Wayne as the leader of a group of professional game catchers in Africa.McCarthy, Todd. ''Howard Hawks: the grey fox of Hollywood'', New York, ...
'' was shot in Tanzania. Nature documentaries have been filmed in Tanzania, including a few parts of ''
Impressionen unter Wasser
''Impressionen unter Wasser'' (''Underwater Impressions aka Impressions of the deep'') is a documentary film released in 2002. It was directed by Leni Riefenstahl.
After the premiere of her film '' Tiefland'' in 1954, for decades it was generall ...
'' and ''
The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos''. In 1992, Dutch documentary ''
Isingiro Hospital'' was made about a hospital in Tanzania treating
AIDS patients. In 2010, filmmaker Nick Broomfield produced the documentary ''Albino United'', about an
albino
Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino.
Varied use and interpretation of the term ...
football team in Tanzania in 2010, and filmed an adaption of the Ronan Bennett's novel ''The Catastrophist'' in the city of Mwanza.
References
External links
imDb's list of "Tanzania in movies" list
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mzimuni Theatre Arts