HARARE - The 11th edition of the International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF) will be officially launched tomorrow at Rainbow Cinema in Harare under the theme “Women Alive”.

The programme in Harare will run from November 23 to December 1 while the Bulawayo leg of the festival will run for two days from December 4.

IIFF will this year take the festival to Binga from December 3 to 6.

Screening of the films will begin tonight at the Zimbabwe German Society and the official launch is on tomorrow.

The first film to be screened will be The Education of Auma Obama, a story of the United States of America president Barack Obama’s half-sister. It was directed by Welsh-Nigerian-German filmmaker Branwen Okpako.
The IIFF gives a glowing assessment of the Obama film.

“Auma’s story is a moving example of the remarkable patriotism, wisdom, courage and sacrifice displayed by a generation of post-independence born Kenyan intellectuals, who were educated in the West and enjoyed the option to remain in the global north, but committed to return to impact on the development of their country.

“Through the eyes of Obama herself, the film reflects on conflicts and events in colonial Kenya to begin with, then in the newly independent state, that imparted to Kenya’s young leaders the focus and drive they needed to overcome the disorientation that often accompanies rapid change.

“The film’s aptly depicts the impact of a life between cultures when one must leave one’s own continent and country for further education, placing one in an “in-between” position.”

The 2012 festival will showcase documentaries, feature and short films all showing how women manage to stay alive themselves, and keep others alive in the home, the workplace and the world.

Other films include Linda Linda Linda (Japan), Fraulein (Switzerland), Queen To Play (France), Lark Farm (Italy), Fiance for Yasmina (Spain), Madame Dakar (Netherlands),  End Of The Road (Iran) and Cultures of Resistance (USA).

IIFF is the only women’s film festival in sub-Saharan Africa.

Each year, IIFF provides a unique focus theme that showcases the best and most interesting films from around the world.

This memorable event engages, interrogates and inspires positive images of women and women’s narratives through film screenings.

More than 80 films are scheduled to screen at the Rainbow Robert Mugabe, Alliance Francaise, the Book Café and Christian College of Southern Africa (Ccosa). - Entertainment Writer