By Abdi Ali
Published February 5, 2017
Today, February 5, is the final of the 31st African Cup of Nations that kicked off the 2017 arts and lifestyle calendar on the mother continent in mid January.
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Whether it shall be sub-Saharan Cameroon or northern African Egypt that walks away with the US$4 million cash prize for the AFCON winner, Africa shall be all the more in a celebratory mood for it.
On the travel front, Kenya Airways whose motto is ‘The Pride of Africa’ marks 40 years in the sky with discounts of ‘up to 40%’ on travel tickets.
“Fly business class from Kenya to London, Paris, Amsterdam and Hong Kong from $1977 only!”, “Buy 1 business class ticket and save up to 50% on the second ticket on various destinations across our Network”, “Celebrating KQ@40 with our family fare”, “Buy 3 tickets and save up to 30% on each ticket”, “Buy 4 tickets and save up to 40% on each ticket!” the national carrier of the Republic of Kenya says as its mega sale winds up on February 5.
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Coming hot on the heels of the celebration of AFCON as the Confederation of African Football (CAF@60) marks its 60th anniversary (CAF@60) and those of Kenya Airways at 40 (Celebrating KQ@40) is Zanzibar’s Sauti za Busara Music Festival and then the annual Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in Nigeria and Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) in south Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal region.
Ahead of the beginning of the four-day Sauti za Busara that kicks off in Stone Town on February 9, Zanzibar’s weather forecast predicts highs of 34 degrees Celsius with blue skies.
Busara Promotions, who present Sauti za Busara, say the festival shall not only “feature 400 artists (40 groups) performing live on three stages” but that it is “is 100% live, proudly showcasing quality, originality and innovation, with priority for young and emerging artists and music with cultural identity.”
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The 13th AMAA, that honours outstanding players in the movie sector of Africa and its Diaspora, shall go down in Nigeria on June 3, 2017.
“Right from 2005, when the event began, the main objective was to establish a platform for the meeting of filmmakers from Africa and beyond. The Africa Movie Academy Awards is not just the event, but its main objective is to unify Africa and help in opening wide networks and channels for the professionals and artists,” says Peace Anyiam-Osigwe who founded AMAA.”The event is resplendent with glitz, high-voltage performances by top artists from Africa and the stunning well-dressed actors on the red carpet.”
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Bernie Goldblat, co-founder of a Burkina Faso-based organisation that creates and disseminates advocacy movies, is the President of the AMAA Jury in 2017.
Soon after the glitz and glamour of AMAA in June comes that of DIFF in July.
Organisers of the 38th DIFF, that is scheduled for July 13-23, 2017, say the festival shall show “cutting-edge cinema from around the world, with special focus on both South African and African films.”
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DIFF says it is in 2017 going to shine “a light upon the ever expanding trend in cinema highlighting the refugee or immigrant stories with Transit Tales. As the global society expands further every year, cinema has highlighted the stories of subjects as they chase their hopes and dreams for their lives in a new and sometimes unknown land. The festival is looking for feature, shorts and documentaries that chronicle such stories from various corners of the globe.”
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Also being held in the framework of the 38th DIFF shall be the 10th Talents Durban (July 14-18, 2017), presented in co-operation with Germany’s Berlinale Talents, and the 8th Durban FilmMart (July 14-17, 2017), presented in partnership with the Durban Film Office.
