The Zanzibar International Film Festival announced a new special jury award category: The Adiaha Award for Best African Female Documentary Filmmaker. This award will be offered for the first time at the 20th edition of ZIFF, held this year 8-16 July.
“Adiaha” is an Ibibio language word that means “first daughter”. This is meant to represent that the winner will be the “first daughter of African documentary filmmaking”, in addition to a cash prize of $2000 (US Dollars), a prestigious Adiaha statue, and a certificate of award.
The award has been created and sponsored by Edima Otuokon of OMESS in Nigeria, and Lara Preston of Red Flag in South Africa – both entrepreneurial women who have been involved in the film industry for many years and are also actively involved in ZIFF. Recognising a gap within the awards at the festival, Edima and Lara aim to raise the profile on documentary filmmaking on the continent, and more specifically to ensure that more female filmmakers all over Africa get involved in the development of documentaries.
“The Adiaha Award is an opportunity for me as a woman who has worked in the entertainment industry for decades to give back to other women. I believe that networking and mentorship are key for women’s growth within any industry. I encourage as many women filmmakers as possible to enter the award and to always keep pushing themselves forward towards their career goals.” – Lara Preston, award co-creator
ZIFF hopes that, for the 20th anniversary event, more female filmmakers than ever before will submit films into the general competition, as well as this special category. Deadline for submission is 15th March 2017.
All submission and related criteria and information are available here, and you can follow the Zanzibar International Film Festival on Facebook.
