ZIFF is proud to announce the films in the Official Selection based on a record 419 submissions. The list contains 25 feature films, 44 shorts and 27 documentaries from over 30 countries across the globe.

Festival director Dr. Martin Mhando had this to say of the submissions and selections for ZIFF 2015, “We would like to congratulate and thank all those who submitted their films. With so many films to choose from the selection process was especially difficult. This has been the largest number of films received to date. We are also pleased to say that the online submission process was a success, with 90% of all the films were submitted online through the FESTHOME platform.”

The entries came from 38 countries with the largest number of entrants coming from Germany and with The Dominican Republic having its first entry in ZIFF 2015.

Speaking on ZIFF 2015, Mandy Roger TV director ZUKU, noted, “We have in the past two years of our sponsorship witnessed significant growth in content development rising from the festival. As a broadcaster, ZUKU is deeply invested in the growth and success of East Africa's creative and content industries. It is therefore with pride we continue to partner the Zanzibar International Film Festival, which has for the last 15 been instrumental in celebrating and enabling film making from the region and around the world."

The selection committee also noted a clear growth in the quality of short films from Africa revealing a refreshing creative input and experimentation with film language.

East Africa is well represented at ZIFF 2015 with seven films from Tanzania to compete in the general competition. Within the Official Selection Kenya leads in the region with nine films selected, while Uganda has three, Burundi two and Rwanda one. South Africa has seven films in competition.

Selected films for the Bongo Movies competition, which is backed by the Satelite TV Channel ZUKU will be announced at a later date. ZUKU is also the event sponsor of the festival.

It has also been announced that the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award winning film Selma will officially open ZIFF 2015.

As in previous years, ZIFF will welcome dozens of professional and aspiring film directors, producers from across Africa and the world for eight days of film, music and cultural celebration.

For more information on ZIFF, visit www.ziff.or.tz. Alternatively, visit and like their page on Facebook.