Tuesday saw the World Premiere of the new Hollywood Blockbuster Selma in Los Angeles. From Zanzibar came the announcement that ZIFF has secured the film as its opening film for the festival in 2015.
"The film is an important historical text worth of a serious festival like ZIFF and our partnerships with Videovision of South Africa has helped us secure the film this early", confirmed Prof martin Mhando, Festival Director of ZIFF.
SELMA is the story of a movement. The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement.
ZIFF links this with the Civil rights movement in South Africa in 1976 through the theme of its workshop "From Selma to Soweto" to take place during the festival. The festival will run between 18th and 26th July this year,