Tanzanian ‘Tug of War’ wins top prize at Carthage Film Festival

Tanzanian film “Tug of War”, about love and politics during the final years of British colonial Zanzibar, has won the Tanit d’Or at Tunisia’s prestigious Carthage Film Festival.

Africa’s oldest film festival, held in the capital Tunis, presented a total of 170 films from around 40 countries, and ended with the prizes on Saturday night.

The winning film whose title in Swahili is “Vuta N’Kuvute” was directed by Amil Shivji.

Two other feature-length films also received awards at the 33rd edition of the festival devoted to Arab and African filmmakers.

“Under the Fig Trees”, directed by Tunisia’s Erige Sehiri, won the Tanit d’Argent. It looks at romantic relations during harvest in a Tunisian village.

The Tanit de Bronze went to “Sharaf” by German-Egyptian director Samir Nasr, which presents a sombre portrait of Egyptian society through the confines of a prison.

The festival also included a focus on Palestinian cinema and featured Saudi Arabia — with four films — as guest of honour.